UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 

COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 


HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  YIELD  OF  WHEAT  IN 

CALIFORNIA 


BY 

G.  W.  SHAW 


Hauling  grain  to  warehouse. 


BULLETIN  No.  211 

(Berkeley,  Cal.,  February,  1911) 


BERKELEY 

THE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS 
1911 

UMVUtSITY  OF  CAUFORNU 

LIBRARY 

nra  Lire  OF  AGRJOJLTUWI 
DAVB 


EXPERIMENT   STATION   STAFF. 

E.  J.  WlCKSON,  M.A.,  Director  and  Horticulturist. 
E.  W.  Hilgard,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,   Chemist    (Emeritus). 
W.  A.  Setchell,  Ph.D.,  Botanist. 

Leroy  Anderson,  Ph.D.,  Dairy  Industry  and  Superintendent  University  Farm   Schools. 
'    M.  E.  Jaffa,  M.S.,  Nutrition  Expert,  in  charge  of  the  Poultry  Station. 
*"•    R.  H.  Loughridge,  Ph.D.,   Soil  Chemist  and  Physicist   (Emeritus). 
C.  W.  Wood  worth,  M.S.,   Entomologist. 

Ralph  E.  Smith,  B.S.,  Plant  Pathologist  and  Superintendent  of  Southern  California  Patho- 
logical Laboratory  and  Experiment  Station. 
y    G.  W.  Shaw,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  Experimental  Agronomist  and  Agricultural  Technologist,   in  charge 
of  Cereal  Stations. 
E.  W.  Major,  B.Agr.,  Animal  Industry,  Farm  Manager,   University  Farm,  Davis. 
.     F.  T.  Bioletti,   B.S.,   Viticuiturist. 
.     B.  A.   Etcheverry,  B.S.,   Irrigation  Expert. 

-  George  E.  Colby,  M.S.,   Chemist    (Fruits,   Waters,    and  Insecticides),   in  charge   of  Chemical 

Laboratory. 
H.  J.  Quayle,  A.B.,  Assistant  Entomologist,   Plant  Disease  Laboratory,  Whittier. 
W.  T.  Clarke.  B.S.,  Assistant  Horticulturist  and  Superintendent  of  University  Extension  in 

Agriculture. 
H.  M.  Hall,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Botanist. 

C.  M.  Haring,  D.V.M.,  Assistant  Veterinarian  and  Bacteriologist. 
1      John   S.  Burd,  B.S.,  Chemist,  in  charge  of  Fertilizer  Control. 
E.  B.  Babcock,  B.S.,  Assistant  Agricultural  Education. 
W.  B.  Herms,  M.A.,  Assistant  Entomologist. 

■  J.  H.  Norton,  M.S.,  Assistant  Chemist,  in  charge  of  Citrus  Experiment  Station,   Riverside. 
i    W.  T.  Horne,  B.S.,  Assistant  Plant  Pathologist. 

'     J.  E.  Coit,  Ph.D.,  Assistant  Pomologist,   Plant  Disease  Laboratory,  Whittier. 

C.  B.  Lipman,  Ph.D.,   Soil  Chemist  and  Bacteriologist. 
•     R.  E.  Mansell,  Assistant  in  Horticulture,  in  charge  of  Central  Station  grounds. 
/'   A.  J.  Gaumnitz,  M.S.,  Assistant  in  Cereal  Investigations,   University  Farm,  Davis. 

E.  H.  HAGEMANN,   Assistant  in  Dairying,  Davis. 
'    B.  S.  Brown,  B.S.A.,  Assistant  in  Horticulture,   University  Farm,  Davis. 

-  F.  D.  Hawk,  B.S.A.,  Assistant  in  Animal  Industry. 

'    J.  I.  Thompson,  B.S.,  Assistant  in  Animal  Industry,  Davis. 

-  R.  M.  Roberts,  B.S.A.,  Field  Assistant  in  Viticulture,  University  Farm,   Davis. 

■  J.  C.  Bridwell,  B.S.,  Assistant  Entomologist. 

C.  H.  McCharles,  B.S.,  Assistant  in  Agricultural  Chemical  Laboratory. 

-  N.  D.  Ingham,  B.S.,  Assistant  in  Sylviculture,   Santa  Monica. 

-  E.  H.   Smith,  M.S.,   Assistant  Plant  Pathologist. 
'  T.  F.  Hunt,  B.S.,  Assistant  Plant  Pathologist. 

-  C.  O.  Smith,  M.S.,  Assistant  Plant  Pathologist,   Plant  Disease  Laboratory,  Whittier. 

-  F.  L.  Yeaw,  B.S.,  Assistant  Plant  Pathologist,  Vacaville. 

-  F.  E.  Johnson,  B.L.,  M.S.,  Assistant  in  Soil  Laboratory. 
•  Charles  Fuchs,  Curator  Entomological  Museum. 

.     P.  L.  Hibbard,  B.S.,  Assistant  Fertilizer  Control  Laboratory. 

-  L.  M.  Davis,  B.S.,  Assistant  in  Dairy  Husbandry,  University  Farm,  Davis. 
L.  Bonnet,  Assistant  in  Viticulture. 

S.  S.  Rogers,  B.S.,  Assistant  Plant  Pathologist,  Plant  Disease  Laboratory,   Whittier. 
v-    B.  A.  Madson,  B.S.A.,  Assistant  in  Cereal  Laboratory. 

Walter  E.  Packard,  M.S.,  Field  Assistant  Imperial  Valley  Investigation,   El  Centro. 
M.  E.  Stover,  B.S.,  Assistant  in  Agricultural  Chemical  Laboratory. 
P.  L.  McCreary,  B.S.,  Laboratory  Assistant  in  Fertilizer  Control.  % 

'   E.  E.  Thomas,  B.S.,  Assistant  Chemist,  Plant  Disease  Laboratory,  Whittier. 
Anna  Hamilton,  Assistant  in  Entomology. 
Mrs.  D.  L.  Bunnell,   Secretary  to  Director. 
W.    II.    VOLOK,  Field  Assistant  in   Entomology,   Watsonville. 
E.  L.  Morris,  B.S.,  Field  Assistant  in  Entomology,   San  Jose. 
.1.   S.    HUNTXB,    Field   Assistant   in   Entomology,    San   Mateo. 
J.  0.   ROPEB,  Patron  University  Forestry  Station,  Chico. 
.1.  T.   BEAB8S,  Foreman  Kearney  Park  Station,   Fresno. 
E,  ('.  Miller,  Foreman   Forestry  Station,  Chico. 


HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  YIELD  OF  WHEAT  IN  CALIFORNIA 


BY 

G.  W.  SHAW. 


The  particular  feature  which  has  dominated  grain  culture  in 
California,  and  on  the  Pacific  coast  generally,  has  been  mass  produc- 
tion, rather  than  maximum  production  per  unit  of  area  or  quality  of 
product.  But  with  the  inevitable  ultimate  deterioration  of  soil  under 
such  a  practice,  heightened  by  the  encroachment  of  other  crops,  there 
has  been  a  notable  falling  off  in  the  production  in  toto,  as  well  as  in 
the  yield  per  acre,  during  recent  years.  While  grain  farming  on  an 
extensive  scale  is  not  an  industry  to  be  particularly  encouraged  when 
natural  conditions  are  such  as  to  make  more  intensive  crops  safe,  yet 
it  is  still,  and  is  destined  to  be  for  all  time,  a  very  important  industry 
in  California;  and  as  one  of  the  staple  crops  of  a  general  farm  is 
worthy  of  not  only  much  encouragement  but  also  the  greatest  aid 
that  can  be  given  it  by  scientific  research.  Further,  on  account  of 
climatic  and  topographical  conditions  there  will  always  be  large  areas 
in  the  state  in  which  cereal  culture  will  be  the  principal  interest. 

How  to  produce  more  grain  of  better  quality  per  acre,  then,  is  a 
very  pertinent  problem.  Under  a  special  appropriation  of  the  State 
Legislature  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  University 
of  California  has  conducted  for  the  past  five  years  investigations 
having  in  view  a  solution  of  this  problem,  and  some  very  important 
practical  and  scientific  results  have  been  secured.  It  is  the  aim  of 
this  bulletin  to  set  forth  in  as  brief  a  manner  as  possible  some  of  the 
more  important  results  bearing  upon  the  question  of  an  increased 
yield,  leaving  the  more  intricate  problem,  the  effect  of  environment 
upon  the  gluten  content  of  wheat,  almost  wholly  for  discussion  in  a 
subsequent  publication.  On  account  of  the  limited  funds  available 
for  printing,  it  will  be  possible  to  set  forth  little  more  than  a  summary 
of  the  work  at  this  time. 

Note  op  Acknowledgment. — The  writer  wishes  to  express  his  indebtedness 
to  Messrs.  A.  J.  Gaumnitz,  J.  T.  Bearss,  and  H.  F.  Blanehard,  who  have  been 
entrusted  with  the  execution  of  the  details  of  the  experiments  which  are  dis- 
cussed herein. 


62255 


256 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


'::M,:  : 

■  ■  ■     ■■  ■'•  ■ 

;... 

.:.-'    '                '«■"'■■; '"*'■■-.■.•:'      :      '                    *-  /' 

■ 

■.          *    .    '  '•     .      •■. 

.: 

Mm 

Fig.  1. — Birdseye  view  of  California  Cereal  Station,  Sacramento  Valley. 


Fig.  2. — General  view  of  grain  plats  on  the  Tulare  Station,  1908. 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  T0  increase  the  wheat  yield.  257 

The  investigations  covered  by  this  report  are  in  general  based  upon 
results  and  observations  covering  a  long  period.  For  a  limited  time 
a  portion  of  the  work  was  conducted  in  co-operation  with  the  Bureau 
of  Plant  Industry  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Both  the  field  and  laboratory  investigations  have  covered  a  wide 
range.  They  embrace  the  relative  value  of  deep  vs.  shallow  plowing, 
early  vs.  late  seeding,  drill  vs.  broadcast  seeding,  trials  with  fertil- 
izers, the  effect  of  certain  rotation  schemes,  the  improvement  of  the 
soil  through  green-manuring,  moisture  conservation,  the  treatment  of 
grain  for  the  prevention  of  smut,  the  value  of  exchanging  seed,  clean- 
ing the  land  from  weeds  both  by  cultural  methods  and  the  use  of 
chemical  sprays,  and  finally,  variety  trials  and  the  development  of 
better  types  of  grain  than  those  commonly  grown.  In  the  study  of 
the  general  question  of  environmental  influence  upon  the  quality  of 
wheat,  and  also  the  selection  work  involving  an  increase  of  the  gluten 
content,  there  has  of  course  been  a  large  amount  of  chemical  work 
required.  Questions  involved  along  these  lines  have  been  the  influence 
upon  the  gluten  content  of  the  length  of  the  growing  period,  of  the 
time  of  harvest,  of  the  time  of  seeding,  of  the  time  the  wheat  plant 
receives  its  moisture,  the  influence  of  sunshine  and  of  the  composition 
of  the  soil.  The  environmental  question  as  affecting  the  gluten 
content  will  be  the  theme  of  a  separate  report. 

In  this  report  an  effort  has  been  made  to  so  correlate  the  cultural 
results  and  observations  that  they  may  be  of  immediate  benefit  to  the 
Caliioxjdia  grain  growers,  in  effecting  improvement  in  soil  fertility, 
increasing  the  yield  of  grain,  and  improving  the  milling  quality  of  the 
grain  produced. 

It  should  be  said  that  these  results  should  be  considered  as  simply 
the  foundation  for  more  extensive  work.  The  element  of  time  is  an 
all-essential  one  for  the  solution  of  such  problems  as  these.  This 
would  be  true  even  though  the  problem  was  merely  the  develop- 
ment of  grain  giving  higher  yields,  but,  with  the  introduction  of  the 
problem  of  increasing  the  gluten  content,  the  element  of  time  is  of 
even  greater  importance. 

The  old  methods  of  grain  growing  still  persist  in  California. 
They  are  generally  very  simple  and  very  crude.  At  first  satis- 
factory returns  were  obtained  because  of  an  unusually  fertile  virgin 
soil.  At  the  outset  there  was  an  annual  cropping  of  the  land  to  the 
cereals  with  no  attempt  to  either  rotate  crops  or  restore  any  of  the 
humus  that  such  a  system  destroys.     In  order  to  cover  as  large  an 


258  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

acreage  as  possible  the  crudest  methods  of  culture  were  practiced. 
The  practice  consisted  simply  of  three-  or  four-inch  plowing,  broad- 
casting the  seed,  and  harrowing  it  in.  But  little  attention  was  paid 
to  the  selection  of  pure  seed,  and  far  too  often  the  growers  purchased 
a  second  or  a  third  grade  seed  under  the  false  notion  that  anything 
that  would  sprout  was  good  enough. 

The  more  important  changes  which  have  taken  place  since  the 
introduction  of  the  above  named  crude  practices  have  been  the  replac- 
ing of  the  header  and  stationary  thresher  by  the  combined  harvester, 
and  the  quite  general  introduction  of  the  practice  of  summer-fallowing 
of  land. 

The  development  of  the  combined  harvester  has  without  doubt 
decreased  the  cost  of  production  where  grain  is  harvested  upon  a  large 
scale,  but  it  has  at  the  same  time  tended  to  encourage  a  desultory 
system  of  culture,  rendered  the  fields  very  foul  both  by  the  general 
distribution  of  weed  seeds  and  because  by  the  time  the  grain  is 
harvested  in  this  manner  practically  all  the  serious  weeds  have  fully 
ripened  their  seed ;  and  further,  on  account  of  the  long  time  the  grain 
is  left  in  the  field  after  maturity,  has  tended  to  seriously  increase 
the  loss  from  shattering  of  the  grain  from  the  wind.  This  latter 
condition  is  especially  true  in  the  Sacramento  Valley.  It  is  very 
questionable,  then,  as  to  whether  the  combined  effects  of  these  unde- 
sirable factors  have  not  more  than  offset  the  decreased  cost. 

The  summer  fallow  practice  was  introduced  for  two  reasons :  first, 
it  was  an  attempt  to  save  as  much  of  two  season's  precipitation  as 
possible  for  the  production  of  a  single  larger  crop ;  second,  to  clean 
the  land  of  weeds  resulting  from  continued  grain  culture.  The  latter 
effect  has  been  largely  offset  by  the  use  of  the  combined  harvester. 

The  shallow  preparation  of  land  and  the  continual  practice  of 
burning  off  the  straw  has  had  a  very  bad  effect  upon  the  humus 
content  of  the  top  foot  of  the  soil,  which  in  turn  has  so  affected  its 
physical  condition,  generally  speaking,  as  to  materially  reduce  its 
moisture  capacity  and  seriously  affect  the  yield  of  grain.  Further, 
the  earlier  seeding  made  possible  by  the  summer  fallow  practice  has 
also  reduced  the  quality  of  the  grain,  as  shown  by  the  analyses  of  a 
large  number  of  early  and  late  seeded  grain. 

During  recent  years,  mainly  as  a  result  of  the  reduction  in  size 
of  some  grain  farms,  and  the  educational  efforts  throughout  the  state 
conducted  by  the  University  of  California,  there  has  been  an  increase 
of  the  depth  of  plowing  on  the  part  of  some  farmers,  but  in  general 
the  same  careless  methods  of  culture  still  hold. 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  T0  INCREase  THE  WHEAT  YIELD.  259 

To  summarize,  the  general  effect  of  the  past  and  present  methods 
has  been  the  development  of  a  poor  physical  condition  of  the  land, 
largely  as  a  result  of  the  depletion  of  the  humus,  until  the  soil  refuses 
to  produce  profitable  crops  of  the  commonly  grown  varieties  of  wheat 
under  the  old  system  of  farming,  and,  besides,  the  soil  has  been  made 
very  foul  with  weeds. 

CULTURAL  EXPERIMENTS. 

DEEP  VS.  SHALLOW  PLOWING. 

At  the  outset  of  these  investigations  a  large  number  of  cultural 
experiments  were  planned,  principally  in  the  Sacramento  Valley.  It 
is  almost  the  universal  practice  in  California  to  give  grain  land  a 
very  shallow  preparation,  probably  90  per  cent,  is  seldom,  if  ever, 
plowed  to  exceed  three  or  four  inches  in  depth.  Although  this  is  so 
generally  the  practice,  yet  it  is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  most 
fundamental  principles  of  "dry-land  farming,"  so-called,  viz.,  secur- 
ing a  deep  penetration  of  water  and  retaining  it  in  the  soil  till  late 
in  the  season  for  properly  maturing  the  crop  and  to  encourage  deep 
rooting. 

On  the  University  Farm  at  Davis,  where  the  average  precipitation 
is  about  20  inches,  forty  trials  of  deep  vs.  shallow  preparation  of  land 
for  grain  have  been  tried  within  the  past  three  years  and  the  results 
are  set  forth  in  the  following  table : 

TABLE  I.— RESULTS  OF  DEEP  VS.  SHALLOW  PLOWING  FOR  GRAIN. 

Average  of  40  Trials. 

Wheat  Barley         Effect  on  succeeding 

bu.  bu.  crop  of  Barley 

Deep    plowing    29.78  75.98  25.36 

Shallow  plowing  21.67  69.30  17.32 

Gain    8.11  6.68  8.04 

Percentage  increase  37.40  9.70  46.50 

Increased  money  value   $7.78  $3.34  $4.02 

It  should  be  stated  that  this  deeper  preparation  of  land  for  grain 
applies  either  to  the  plowing  for  summer  fallow  or  for  seeding  previous 
to  the  middle  of  January.  If  land  is  to  be  prepared  later  than  such 
date  then  a  more  shallow  preparation  with  thorough  working  of  the 
surface  is  undoubtedly  preferable. 

Deep  plowing  to  enable  quick  and  deep  penetration  of  water,  and 
followed  by  immediate  subpacking  of  the  soil,  either  by  the  use  of  a 
disk  set  rather  straight,  or  on  light  soils  a  sub-surface  packer,  and 
finally  a  thorough  preparation  of  the  surface  seed-bed,  are  funda- 
mental principles  of  grain  production. 


260  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

The  average  yield  of  wheat  in  the  State  for  the  past  three  years 
has  been  14.5  bushels  per  acre.  On  the  Cereal  Stations,  over  the  same 
period,  the  average  yields,  including  all  varieties,  some  of  which  were 
very  poorly  adapted  to  California  conditions  and  therefore  giving 
light  returns,  has  been  as  follows : 

Wheat,  Barley, 

bu.  per  acre         bu.  per  acre 

Tulare   35.2  53.4 

Davis  40.4  45.4 

Ceres    - 33.2  19.1 

Average    36.3  39.3 

In  this  connection  it  must  be  remembered  that  neither  irrigation 
nor  fertilization  has  been  practiced  on  these  tracts  except  in  certain 
plats  which  are  not  included  in  the  averages.  This  increased  average 
yield  has  been  almost  entirely  due  to  a  deeper  plowing  than  is  custo- 
mary, a  better  preparation  of  the  seed  bed,  and  a  well  cultivated 
summer  fallow.  On  the  experimental  tract  at  the  University  Farm 
Davis,  the  average  yield  of  barley  for  the  last  three  years  has  been 
45.4  bushels  per  acre.  The  same  land  at  Davis  under  more  shallow 
preparation,  over  the  same  period  has  returned  a  yield  of  37.9  bushels 
per  acre  of  barley. 

Much  of  the  grain  land  of  the  State  at  present,  as  a  result  of 
continued  shallow  culture,  has  developed  a  very  tenacious  plow-sole 
which  materially  lessens  its  ability  to  absorb  moisture  rapidly  and 
freely.  On  such  lands  it  may  not  be  advisable  to  plow  to  the  full 
depth  of  eight  inches  at  one  operation,  but  rather  to  increase  the  depth 
gradually  until  eight-inch  plowing  can  he  the  regular  practice.  In 
many  localities  a  plowing  to  a  depth  of  twelve  inches  is  advisable, 
especially  if  the  land  has  become  exceedingly  compact  and  hard. 
While  the  benefits  from  deep  plowing  may  not  be  so  evident  the  first 
season,  unless  great  care  is  taken  to  sub-pack  the  soil  in  order  to 
establish  good  capillary  connection  in  the  undersoil,  the  results  are  of 
permanent  character.  The  subsoil  is  materially  benefited  by  aeration 
and  other  climatic  influences,  and  the  effects  of  deep  plowing  will  be 
noticeable  for  several  succeeding  crops.  For  an  illustration  of  this, 
note  the  residual  effect  of  deep  plowing  on  the  barley  crop  as  shown 
in  Table  I. 

DISKING  VS.  PLOWING  OF  LAND  FOR  SPRING  SEEDING. 

When  the  season  has  far  advanced  before  seeding  particular  care 
must  be  taken  not  to  leave  the  soil  so  loose  as  to  cause  rapid  drying 
out.    Generally  under  such  conditions  the  disk  serves  a  better  purpose 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  T0  increase  the  wheat  yield.  261 

in  the  preparation  of  the  land  than  the  plow,  even  though  the  plowing 
be  shallow.  Several  trials  of  this  have  been  made  and  are  set  forth 
in  the  subjoined  table. 

TABLE  II.— DISKING  VS.  PLOWING  OF  LAND  FOE  SPRING  SEEDING. 

Land  disked  Land  plowed 

bu.  bu.  Difference 

1909 52.00  50.00  2.0 

1910 45.80  41.50  4.3 

Average 48.90-  45.75  3.1 

THE  EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  THE  HUMUS  OF  THE  SOIL. 

California  soils  in  the  grain  growing  sections  are  low  in  humus. 
For  many  years  the  writer  has  maintained  persistently  that  the  main- 
tenance and  increase  of  the  humus  component  of  the  soil  is  the  most 
important  single  factor  in  California  agriculture.  Humus  is  vegetable 
or  animal  matter  in  process  of  decay.  Its  presence  in  ample  quantity 
in  a  soil  means  success;  its  lack  means  disaster,  and  this  is  particu- 
larly true  in  dry-land  farming.  To  lessen  seriously  the  humus  content 
of  a  soil  is  to  lower  the  crop  producing  powers  of  the  individual  farm 
and  impair  natural  resources. 

HUMUS  benefits  the  soil  physically: 

(1)  By  increasing  its  water  holding  capacity. 

(2)  By  increasing  its  warmth. 

(3)  By  bettering  its  texture. 

HUMUS  benefits  the  soil  chemically  : 

(4)  By  supplying  nitrogen  directly. 

(5)  By  supplying  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and  lime  directly. 

HUMUS  benefits  the  soil  biologically  : 

(6)  By  affording  food  for  micro-organic  growth. 

Very  pertinent  to  this  is  an  experiment  described  by  Professor 
Cavanaugh,  of  Cornell  Experiment  Station.  He  undertook  the  analy- 
sis of  soil  from  an  orchard  where  three  successive  crops  of  crimson 
clover  had  been  plowed  under.  In  order  to  learn  what  change,  if 
any,  had  been  produced,  another  sample  from  the  same  field,  but 
where  no  clover  had  grown,  was  also  examined.  These  two  samples 
were  taken  about  20  feet  apart,  and  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  previous  to  the  growing  of  the  clover  the  soil  in  these  two  places 
was  materially  different.  The  amounts  of  moisture,  humus  and  nitro- 
gen, were  determined. 


262 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


The  results  were  as  follows : 

With  no  Clover  After  Clover 

Per  cent.  Per  cent.  Difference 

Moisture    8.75  15.00  6.25 

Humus    1.91  2.94  1.03 

Nitrogen    12  .21  .09 

Possibly  a  more  definite  idea  may  be  had  of  these  differences  if 
the  increased  amounts  per  acre  are  calculated.  Since  the  soil  was 
in  an  orchard,  where  the  extreme  depth  of  cultivation  was  about  six 


Fig.  3. — Pea  crop  to  be  turned  under  for  increasing  the  humus  supply  of 
the  soil.     Yuba  City  Station. 

inches,  the  samples  were  taken  to  that  depth.  The  average  weight 
of  soils  per  acre  for  a  depth  of  six  inches  is  about  750  tons,  or  1,500,000 
pounds ;  6.25  per  cent,  of  this  amount,  in  the  case  of  moisture,  would 
show  an  increased  water-holding  capacity  of  93,750  pounds,  or  46% 
tons.  This  result  was  made  possible  by  the  increased  amount  of 
humus,  and  a  careful  system  of  surface  tillage.  If  there  had  been 
no  other  benefit  from  this  system  of  green-manuring  than  this  in- 
creased power  to  hold  moisture,  it  would  have  more  than  paid  for 
seed  and  labor,  for  an  extra  forty-six  tons  of  water  is  very  convenient 


Bulletin  211] 


HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


263 


in  a  dry  time,  and  might  easily  be  the  turning  point  between  success 
and  failure. 

Already  the  wheat  soils  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  have  had  their 
humus  content  so  seriously  impaired  as  to  render  it  extremely  doubtful 


Fig.  4. — Wheat  plants  from  six  plats  treated  differently, 
showing  comparative  development:  (1)  from  plat 
continuously  seeded  to  wheat;  (2)  from  plat  bare- 
fallowed  in  1908;  (3)  from  plat  upon  which  horse 
beans  were  grown  and  plowed  under  in  1908;  (4) 
from  plat  upon  which  Canadian  field  peas  were  grown 
and  plowed  under  in  1908;  (5)  from  plat  upon  which 
rye  and  vetch  were  grown  and  plowed  under  in 
1908;  (6)  from  plat  upon  which  rye  was  grown  and 
plowed  under  in  1908. 


if  it  is  at  all  possible  to  produce  three  good  successive  crops  of  wheat 
upon  the  same  land,  largely  on  account  of  their  lack  of  moisture- 
holding  power.  This  is  not  equally  true  of  the  heavier  soils  repre- 
sented by  the  University  Farm  at  Davis. 

Continued  grain  culture  under  shallow  preparation  over  a  long 


264 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


period  has  seriously  affected  the  naturally  low  humus  supply  of  the 
grain  lands.  This  condition  has  been  rendered  worse  by  the  burning 
of  the  straw  and  biennial  culture  necessitated  by  a  limited  precip- 
itation. The  only  way  to  either  maintain  or  increase  the  humus 
supply  is  by  the  use  of  stable  manure  or  the  growing  of  green-manure 
crops  to  be  turned  under.  The  former  is  out  of  the  question  over 
any  considerable  area,  and  the  only  recourse  is  the  growing  of  green- 
manure  crops  to  be  turned  under. 


Fig.  5. — Wheat  growing  on  plat  which  has  been  continuously  seeded  to 
the  same  crop.     (See  figure  4  (1).) 


At  the  outset  of  this  work  a  scheme  was  laid  out  on  each  of  the 
Stations  to  determine  the  most  economical  crop  to  be  grown  to  accom- 
plish this  result,  and  the  effect  of  such  treatment  upon  the  yield  of 
grain.  Essentially  the  same  scheme  was  employed  both  in  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  on  a  sandy  soil,  and  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  on 
a  heavy  soil.  While  the  trials  have  not  been  conducted  sufficiently 
long  to  be  beyond  possibilities  of  slight  errors,  yet  they  are  sufficient 
to  give  an  idea  of  what  may  be  reasonably  expected  from  turning 
under  green-manure  crops  and  as  a  factor  in  increasing  the  grain 
crops  of  California  should  be  given  the  closest  attention. 


Bulletin  211]  HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD.  265 

In  these  experiments  it  has  been  the  general  practice  to  plow  the 
land  about  eight  inches  deep  at  the  time  of  turning  under  the  green- 
manure  crop,  and  then  to  be  careful  to  so  treat  the  land  either  with 
disk  or  sub-surface  packer  as  to  be  certain  to  establish  close  contact 
of  the  soil  with  the  green  stuff  turned  under  and  to  maintain  proper 
capillary  connection  between  the  top  soil  and  under  soil.  This  is 
necessary  to  secure  the  most  effective  results  from  the  green  stuff  and 
to  prevent  drying  out  of  the  top  soil. 

TABLE  III.— EFFECT  OF  DEEP  PLOWING  AND  GEEEN-MANUEE  CEOPS 

ON  THE  YIELD  OF  WHEAT  ON  SANDY  SOIL  IN  SAN 

JOAQUIN  VALLEY  (CEEES). 

No.  of  r Yield  per  acre  in  bu. N 

Plat  Preceding  treatment  of  crop  1909  1910  2-yr.  av. 

1  Bare  fallow  28.0  38.6  33.3 

2  Horsebeans  (turned  under)   35.3  40.0  37.6 

3  Canadian  field  peas  (turned  under)  33.7  39.3  36.5 

4  Wheat  after  wheat 15.7  15.7* 

5  Eye  and  vetch  (turned  under)   50.7  57.3  54.0 

6  Eye  (turned  under)   51.3  53.3  52.3 

*  One  year  only. 

Illustrations  showing  the  field  appearance  of  the  several  tracts  are 
shown  as  Figs.  5  to  9. 

In  discussing  the  results  of  this  work  in  1909,  Mr.  H.  F.  Blanchard, 
at  that  time  in  charge  of  the  Ceres  Station,  says : 

' '  The  cultivation  of  the  plats  indicated  in  the  table  was  as  follows : 

"In  the  fall  of  1907  all  of  the  plats  were  laid  out  on  summer- 
fallow  land  and  all  were  plowed  to  a  depth  of  6  inches  and  harrowed. 
Plat  1  was  allowed  to  remain  fallow.  Plat  4  was  sown  to  wheat. 
Plats  2,  3,  5,  and  6  were  sown,  as  indicated,  to  horse  beans,  Canadian 
field  peas,  rye  and  vetch,  and  rye  alone.  The  vetch  in  plat  5  made  a 
very  poor  stand,  while  the  horse  beans  and  peas  made  a  fairly  good 
stand.     The  stand  of  rye  was  excellent." 

"In  March,  1908,  plats  1,  2,  3,  5,  and  6  were  plowed  8  inches  deep, 
harrowed,  and  kept  clean  throughout  the  summer  and  fall.  Plat  4, 
which  yielded  at  the  rate  of  26  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  was 
double-disked  immediately  after  the  wheat  was  taken  off." 

' '  The  first  of  December,  1908,  all  plats  were  plowed  to  a  depth  of 
5  inches  and  sown  to  wheat.  The  resulting  yields  are  given  in  Table 
III.  In  two  years'  time  the  plat  continuously  seeded  to  wheat  has 
produced  41  bushels  of  wheat.  However,  the  first  year's  yield,  26 
bushels,  was  produced  after  summer  fallow  and  the  second  year's 
yield,  15.66  bushels,  shows  a  decrease  of  nearly  half.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  the  third  year  will  give  a  very  low  yield  and  that  in  a 


266 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


Fig.  6. — Wheat  growing  on  plats  which  had  been  barefallowed  in  1908. 

(See  figure  4  (2).) 


Pig.  7. — Wheat  growing  on  plat  on  which  Canadian  field  peas  were  grown 
and  plowed  under  in  1908.     (See  figure  4  (3).) 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  T0  INCrease  the  wheat  yield. 


267 


Tig.  8. — Wheat  growing  on  plat  on  which  rye  and  vetch  were  grown  and 
plowed  under  in  1908.     (See  figure  4  (5).) 


Fig.  9. — Wheat  growing  on  plat  on  which  rye  was  grown  and  plowed  under 
in  1908.     (See  figure  4  (6).) 


268  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

series  of  five  years  the  quantity  of  wheat  produced  from  continuously 
seeded  plats  would  be  much  smaller  than  from  the  other  methods  of 
cultivation. ' ' 

"It  follows,  then,  from  this  experiment,  that  deeply  plowed 
summer  fallow  will  give  much  better  yields  than  shallow  plowed, 
continuously  cropped  land.  Plats  1,  2,  3,  5,  and  6  were  all  plowed  at 
the  same  depth,  and  the  last  four  were  fallowed  also  after  turning 
under  the  green  crops.  The  yields  indicate  that  the  addition  of 
organic  matter  (humus)  to  the  soil  is  beneficial  in  increasing  the 
production  of  crops  and  that  this  increase  is  proportional  to  the 
quantity  rather  than  the  quality  or  kind  of  organic  matter  added." 


Fig.  10. — Plat  30,  wheat  after  wheat,  University  Farm,  Davis.     Contrast 
with  Figs.  11  and  12.     (See  Table  IV.) 

At  Davis  the  general  character  of  the  cultivation  has  been  the  same 
on  the  several  plats,  and  the  results  have  been  less  striking  only 
because  the  soil  on  that  station  is  normally  richer  in  humus  and 
naturally  more  retentive  of  moisture. 

The  results  in  tabulated  form  are  shown  below : 

TABLE  IV.— EFFECT  OF  DEEP  PLOWING  AND  GEEEN-MANUEE  CEOPS 

ON  THE  YIELD  OF  WHEAT  ON  HEAVY  SOILS  AT  DAVIS,  1907-10. 

Yield  per  acre 
Crop  or  treatment  bu. 

Wheat  after  wheat   32.7 

Wheat  after  fallow  41.6 

Wheat  after  horsebeans   (turned  under)   ....: 43.1 

Wheat  after  field  peas  (turned  under)  43.3 

Wheat  after  wheat  38.6 

Wheat  after  horsebeans  (turned  under  and  followed  by 

Kafir    corn)    42.3 

Wheat  after  rye  and  vetch  (turned  under)  44.4 

Wheat  after  burr  clover  (turned  under)   48.2 


Bulletin  211] 


HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


269 


Fig.  11. — Plat  39,  University  Farm,  Davis.    Wheat  after  horsebeans  (turned 
under)  followed  by  Kafir  corn.   Contrast  with  Fig.  10.    (See  Table  IV.) 


Fig.  12. — Plat  41,  University  Farm,  Davis.     Wheat  after  turning  under  a 
crop  of  rye  and  vetch.   Contrast  with  Fig.  10.    (See  Table  IV.) 


270  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

The  inevitable  conclusion  from  the  experiments  conducted  at  both 
of  these  stations  along  these  lines  is  that  by  means  of  deeper  plowing 
and  the  growing  of  green-manure  crops  during  the  winter  the  yields 
of  grain  can  be  very  materially  increased.  It  is  certainly  reasonable 
in  the  light  of  these  experiments  that  by  the  adoption  of  better 
methods  of  culture,  and  improvement  of  the  humus  content  of  the 
soil  by  green-manuring,  the  average  wheat  yield  of  California  can, 
without  much  trouble,  be  raised  to  nearly  double  what  it  is  at  present 
and  at  the  same  time  the  soil  be  put  into  a  more  favorable  condition 
for  other  crops. 


Fig.  13. — Canadian  field  peas  to  be  turned  under  to  increase  the  humus  and 
the  moisture  capacity  of  grain  land.     University  Farm,  Davis,  1908. 


CROPS  TO  BE  USED  FOR  GREEN-MANURING. 

A  large  variety  of  plants  have  been  tried  out  for  green-manuring 
purposes,  either  directly  in  this  rotation  scheme,  or  separately,  but 
under  the  present  condition  of  the  seed  market  only  a  limited  number 
of  varieties  are  obtainable. 

In  the  light  of  the  experiments  discussed  above,  it  appears  that  it 
is  rather  the  mass  of  green  stuff  that  can  be  introduced  into  the  soil 
that  counts,  rather  than  the  character  of  the  material.  This  is  a  con- 
dition which  seems  to  hold  at  present,  but  probably  is  not  likely  to 
be  permanently  true.  The  immediate  effect  of  the  green-manure  stuff 
is  to  improve  the  moisture  holding  capacity,  and  the  evidence  would 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD.  271 

seem  to  show  that  this  is  the  condition  of  first  importance,  and  that 
the  matter  of  direct  nitrogen  supply  is  of  secondary  consideration. 
Results  secured  with  field  peas  or  vetches  would  doubtless  be  more 
lasting  in  their  effect,  and  the  quality  of  humus  better,  but  unfortu- 
nately there  is  much  difficulty  in  securing  a  sufficient  growth  of  either 
of  these  crops  on  many  of  the  grain  lands  in  their  present  physical 
condition.  The  most  favorable  immediate  results  can  probably  be 
secured  by  the  use  of  rye.  Under  favorable  conditions  peas,  seeded 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  pounds  per  acre,  have  given  good  results 
in  the  Sacramento  Valley.  The  Niles  pea  is  probably  somewhat  more 
favorable  than  the  Canadian  field  pea,  since  it  grows  more  rapidly  and 
is  somewhat  earlier  in  maturing.  On  the  lighter  soil  of  the  San  Joa- 
quin Valley,  peas  do  not  make  as  rank  a  growth  as  in  the  Sacramento 
Valley.  A  favorable  mixture  is  peas  and  rye  sown  together  at  the 
rate  of  60  pounds  of  peas  and  30  pounds  of  rye  per  acre. 

Under  the  present  soil  conditions,  and  to  lay  a  foundation  for  the 
future  use  of  peas  or  other  legumes,  winter  rye  is  to  be  highly  recom- 
mended.   This  should  be  seeded  at  the  rate  of  80  pounds  per  acre. 

The  essential  thing  is  to  secure  the  maximum  growth  of  green  stuff 
during  the  winter  to  be  turned  under  in  the  early  spring.  The  grower 
should  use  the  plant  which  he  finds  will  make  the  most  rapid  growth 
under  his  own  conditions.  Rye  is  usually  a  sure  crop  on  any  kind 
of  soil;  peas  or  vetches  are  less  certain  to  make  a  large  growth.  But 
whenever  possible  to  secure  a  satisfactory  growth  a  legume  is  prefer- 
able, because  it  makes  an  addition  of  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  and  thus 
improves  its  chemical  as  well  as  physical  conditions. 

Whatever  crop  is  used  it  should  be  seeded  as  soon  as  it  is  possible 
to  either  shallow-plow  or  disk  the  land.  If  the  land  has  been  disked 
immediately  after  the  removal  of  the  grain  crop,  the  green-manure 
crop  can  usually  be  seeded  by  December  first,  though  occasionally  it 
may  be  necessarily  later.  In  the  case  of  legumes  it  is  not  advisable 
to  sow  later  than  December  fifteenth,  but  with  rye  the  seeding  may 
be  done  as  late  as  January  first.  The  crop  should  be  turned  under 
from  the  first  to  the  middle  of  March,  before  the  ground  is  too  dry 
for  deep  plowing.  The  aim  should  be  to  secure  as  long  a  growing 
period  for  the  green-manure  crop  as  possible  without  leaving  the 
ground  so  late  as  to  prevent  humification. 

It  is  a  great  aid  to  early  preparation  of  stubble  land  to  disk  the 
land  immediately  after  the  crop  is  harvested.  This  tends  to  conserve 
the  residual  moisture,  and  enables  it  to  make  use  of  the  light  fall 
precipitation,  and  furnishes  a  fine  soil  to  be  turned  under  in  plowing, 
and  it  still  further  encourages  the  early  germination  of  weed  seeds. 


272 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


THE  USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  ON  GRAIN. 
Among  the  cultural  experiments  a  series  of  fertilizer  tests  was 
planned  with  the  idea  of  ultimately  securing  answers  to  the  following 
questions : 

A.  Does  an  increase  in  the  available  nitrogen  in  the  soil  increase  the  gluten 
of  the  wheat  and  the  yield  per  acre? 

B.  What  is  the  effect  of  an  increase  of  lime  upon  the  yield  of  grain  both 
with  and  without  the  addition  of  nitrogen? 

C.  Does  an  increase  in  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  soil  in  the  presence  of 
liberal  amounts  of  phosphoric  acid  increase  the  gluten  content  of  the  grain,  or 
the  yield? 

D.  Does  increasing  the  phosphoric  acid  increase  either  the  gluten  content  or 
the  yield  of  wheat? 

E.  Does  increasing  the  potash  supply,  either  alone  or  in  c  unbination  with 
other  materials,  increase  the  gluten  content  or  the  yield  per  acre? 

F.  What  is  the  relative  value  of  nitrogen  in  nitrate  of  soda  and  in  organic 
form  (dried  blood)  ? 

G.  Plats  23,  24,  and  25  are  to  have  legumes  grown  upon  them  every  third 
year  and  the  cereal  crops  the  other  two  years,  the  latter  crops  to  be  fertilized 
with  superphosphate  and  potash  on  the  second  crop  after  the  legumes.  The 
results  of  this  plan  of  operation  are  to  be  compared  with  the  average  of  the 
check  plats  and  with  21  and  27. 

For  the  purpose  of  answering  these  questions  the  following  fertil- 
izer scheme  is  being  carried  out : 

TABLE  V.— EXPERIMENT  A— FERTILIZERS  ON  WHEAT. 

University  Farm,  Davis,  1907-10. 

Av.  yield  for  Yield 

3  yrs.  per  acre, 

Plat                                                                                                                             Bu.  per  acre  1907-08 

No.                  Treatment  on  one-twentieth  acre  plats                                         Wheat  Barley 

1  Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs.;  hydrated  lime,  1321/2  lbs 39.6  22.1 

2  Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs 44.7  13.3 

3  Hydrated  lime,  132%  lbs.;  nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs 28.8  12.8 

4  Check;   no  fertilizer   30.1  13.6 

5  Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs.;  sulfate  of  potash,  6  lbs 30.5  17.8 

6  Nitrate  of  soda,  10  lbs 35.0  15.6 

7  Check;   no  fertilizer  35.3  13.9 

8  Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs.;  superphosphate,  20  lbs 38.7  17.2 

9  Nitrate  of  soda,  10  lbs.;  sulfate  of  potash,  6  lbs 27.7  17.2 

10  Nitrate  of  soda,  10  lbs.;  superphosphate,  20  lbs 30.1  18.3 

11  Check;   no  fertilizer  27.7  13.3 

12  Superphosphate,  20  lbs 30.4  15.5 

13  Sulfate  of  potash,  6  lbs 33.5  16.1 

14  Check;   no   fertilizer  34.7  14.3 

Note. — While  a  fertilizer  scheme  was  originally  planned  for  each  of  the 
stations,  it  finally  developed  that  either  the  extreme  weediness  or  the  uneven 
character  of  the  soil  where  the  plats  were  located  rendered  the  results  untrust- 
worthy, except  on  the  University  Farm  tract. 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  T0  increase  the  wheat  YIELD. 


273 


Plat 

No. 

15 
16 
17 

18 

19 

20 

21 
22 
23 

24 
25 


26 


27 


Av.  yield  for 

Yield 

3  yrs. 

Bu.  per  acre 

Wheat 

per  acre, 
1907-08 
Barley 

12  lbs.  . 

42.6 

12.2 

lbs 

35.5 

17.8 

sul- 


37.5 


36.1 


Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs.;  sulfate  of  potash, 

Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs.;  superphosphate,  30  lbs. 

Nitrate  of  soda,  10  lbs.;  superphosphate,  30  lbs.; 
fate  of  potash,  6  lbs 

Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs. ;  superphosphate,  30  lbs. ;  sulfate 
of  potash,  12  lbs 

Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs.;  superphosphate,  30  lbs.;  sulfate 

of  potash,  12  lbs 35.7 

Nitrate  of  soda,  5  lbs. ;   superphosphate,   50  lbs. ;    sul- 
fate of  potash,  6  lbs 36.5 

Check;   no  fertilizer  34.5 

Sulfate  of  potash,  6  lbs.;  superphosphate,  30  lbs 32.0 

Dried  blood,  7  lbs.;   superphosphate,   30  lbs.;   sulfate 

of  potash,  6  lbs 31.8 

Legume,    1907-08;    no    fertilizer,    1908-09;    superphos- 
phate, 30  lbs.;  sulfate  of  potash,  6  lbs.,  1909-10 

Superphosphate,    30    lbs. ;    sulfate    of    potash,    6    lbs., 
1907-08;  legume,  1908-09    (Canadian  field  pea);   no  \  3' 
fertilizer,  1909-10  | 

No  fertilizer,  1907-08;  superphosphate,  30  lbs.,  1908-09; 
sulfate  of  potash,  6  lbs.,  1908-09;  legume,  1909-10  .... 

Check;   no  fertilizer  34.4 


19.4 

15.0 

17.8 

18.3 
13.9 
12.2 

15.6 


16.6 


15.0 


The  experiments  have  not  yet  been  conducted  a  sufficiently  long 
time  to  furnish  conclusive  data,  yet  the  results  for  three  years  furnish 
certain  indications  which  are  suggestive,  and  from  them  the  following 
tentative  conclusion  may  be  drawn. 


THE  GENERAL  EFFECT  OF  NITROGENOUS  FERTILIZERS  ON  THE 
YIELD  OF  WHEAT  AT  UNIVERSITY  FARM,  DAVIS. 

The  general  effect  of  nitrate  of  soda  upon  the  yield  of  wheat  for 
the  past  three  years  on  the  plats  at  the  University  Farm  at  Davis  is 
shown  by  collecting  the  yields  as  expressed  above  and  comparing  with 
their  respective  check  plats. 


Plats  Receiving  Nitrate  of  Soda. 


No.  of 
Plat 


Yield  per  acre 
bu. 


1 39.66 

2 49.66 


Average  for  2  years  42.16 

6 34.90 

5 30.47 

10 30.01 

17 37.48 

8 38.65 


Plats  Receiving  no  Nitrate  of  Soda. 


Yield  per  acre 
bu. 


No.  of 
Plat 

3 32.96 

4 35.31 


34.14 

7 35.28 

13 33.47 

12 30.42 

19 35.72 

12 30.42 


Average  for  3  years  34.30 


33.06 


274  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

This  comparison  would  seem  to  show  that  in  the  case  of  wheat 
the  increased  yield  per  acre  that  can  be  secured  from  the  use  of 
nitrates  on  soils  similar  to  those  at  the  University  Farm  is  but  slight. 
It  should  be  said  in  this  connection  that  nitrification  has  been  found 
to  have  taken  place  to  an  unusual  depth — 12  feet  or  more — on  these 
soils,  hence  it  is  not  strange  that  the  above  results  should  show  such 
a  small  increase  from  the  use  of  nitrates. 

In  the  matter  of  nitrate  nitrogen  as  compared  with  organic  nitro- 
gen in  a  complete  fertilizer  there  has  been  a  distinct  advantage  in 
favor  of  the  former  as  shown  below: 

Plat  No.  Yield 

Nitrogen  as  nitrate  in  complete  fertilizer  20  36.51 

Nitrogen  as  blood  in  complete  fertilizer  23  31.88 


Gain    4.63 

GENERAL  EFFECT  OF  PHOSPHATIC  FERTILIZERS  ON  THE  YIELD  OF 
WHEAT  AT  UNIVERSITY  FARM,  DAVIS. 

Collecting  the  results  from  Table  V  in  a  similar  manner  for  the 
plats  carrying  phosphates  in  the  form  of  superphosphates  we  obtain 
as  follows : 
Plats  Receiving  Superphosphate.  Plats  Receiving  no  Superphosphate. 

No.  of  Yield  per  acre  No.  of  Yield  per  acre 

Plat  bu.  Plat  bu. 

8* 44.65  2* 44.66 

10 30.01  6 34.90 

12 30.42  11 27.70 

20 36.51  18 36.05 

22 32.02  13 33.47 


Average  for  3  years  32.24  33.03 

*  2  years  only,  not  included  in  average. 

Here  it  is  found  that  for  the  past  three  years  the  general  effect  of 
phosphates  upon  the  yield  of  wheat  on  these  soils  has  been  negative 
rather  than  positive. 

THE  GENERAL  EFFECT  OF  POTASH  UPON  THE  YIELD  OF  WHEAT  AT 

THE  UNIVERSITY  FARM,  DAVIS. 
Plats  Receiving  Sulfate  of  Potash.     Plats  Receiving  no  Sulfate  of  Potash. 

No.  of                                            Yield  per  acre  No.  of  Yield  per  acre 

Plat  bu.  Plat  bu. 

5* 30.5                            2* 44.7 

9 27.7                            6 35.0 

13 33.5                          14 34.7 

15 42.6                            5 30.5 

19 35.7                          18 36.1 


Average    34.9  34.1 

2  years  only,  not  included  in  average. 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  T0  INCrease  the  WHEAT  YIELD.  275 

The  general  effect  of  the  potash  fertilizer  has  been  very  slight  in 
these  soils  during  these  trials. 

The  total  general  effect  on  the  fertilized  plats  has  only  been  an 
increase  of  0.8  bushel  per  acre,  which  of  course  is  altogether  too  small 
to  warrant  their  use  on  these  soils  for  wheat  production. 


FERTILIZER  TEIALS  UPON  BARLEY  AT  UNIVERSITY  FARM,  DAVIS. 

In  the  season  of  1907-08  similar  trials  of  fertilizer  were  made  upon 
barley  with  the  following  results : 

GENERAL  EFFECT  OF  NITROGENOUS  FERTILIZER  ON  BARLEY  AT 
UNIVERSITY  FARM,  DAVIS. 

Plats  Receiving  Nitrate  of  Soda.  Plats  not  Receiving  Nitrate  of  Soda. 


No.  of 
Plat 

Yield  per  acre 
bu. 

No.  of 
Plat 

Yield  per  acre 
bu. 

Gain  or 
Loss 

1 

22.1 

3 

12.8 

+9.3 

2 

13.3 

4 

13.6 

—0.3 

5 

17.8 

13 

16.1 

+  1.7 

6 

15.6 

7 

13.9 

+  1.7 

6 

15.6 

2 

13.3 

+  2.3 

6 

15.6 

4 

13.6 

+  2.0 

8 

17.2 

12 

15.5 

+1.7 

9 

17.2 

5 

17.8 

—0.6 

9 

17.2 

13 

16.1 

+1.1 

10 

18.3 

8 

17.2 

+  1.1 

10 

18.3 

12 

15.5 

+2.8 

17 

19.4 

19 

17.8 

+1.6 

18 

15.0 

22 

12.2 

+2.8 

Average 

17.1 

15.0 

+  2.1 

GENERAL  EFFECT  OF  PHOSPHATES  UPON  THE  YIELD  OF  BARLEY 
AT  UNIVERSITY  FARM,  DAVIS. 

Plats  Receiving  Superphosphate.  Plats  Receiving  no  Superphosphate. 


STo.  of 
Plat 

Yield  per  acre 
bu. 

No.  of 
Plat 

Yield  per  acre 
bu. 

Gain  or 
Loss 

12 

15.5 

11 

13.3 

+  2.2 

8 

17.2 

2 

13.3 

+3.9 

10 

18.3 

6 

15.6 

+  2.7 

16 

17.8 

2 

13.3 

+4.5 

20 

18.3 

18 

15.0 

+3.3 

19 

17.8 

15 

12.2 

+5.6 

22 

12.2 

13 

16.1 

—3.9 

Averaere    

16.7 

14.1 

+  2.6 

276  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

GENERAL  EFFECT  OF  POTASH  UPON  THE  YIELD  OF  BAELEY  AT 
UNIVERSITY  FARM,  DAVIS. 

Plats  Receiving  Sulfate  of  Potash.     Plats  Receiving  no  Sulfate  of  Potash. 


No.  of 
Plat 

Yield  per  acre 
bu. 

No.  of 
Plat 

Yield  per  acre 
bu. 

Gain  or 
Loss 

5 

17.8 

2 

13.3 

+4.5 

9 

17.2 

6 

15.6 

+1.6 

13 

16.1 

14 

14.3 

+1.8 

15 

12.2 

5 

17.8 

—5.6 

19 

17.8 

16.2 

18 

15.0 

+2.8 

Averaere    .. 

15.2 

+  1.0 

As  to  the  general  effect  of  the  fertilizer  plats  as  against  those 
unfertilized  there  is  shown  an  increase  of  3  bushels  per  acre. 

A  TRIAL  OF  SUPERPHOSPHATE  UPON  GRAIN. 

In* addition  to  the  regular  fertilizer  trials  on  the  University  Farm, 
a  series  of  co-operative  trials  with  superphosphate  were  conducted  by 
a  number  of  growers  during  the  season  of  1909-10.  In  these  trials 
both  the  seed  and  fertilizer  were  drilled  at  the  same  time  with  a 
Superior  Combined  Fertilizer  and  Grain  Drill.  A  study  of  the  table 
will  show  that  no  profitable  results  were  obtained  in  any  of  the  trials 
with  superphosphate  alone,  except  in  the  case  of  the  Experiment 
No.  3  at  Corcoran.  This  should  not  be  taken,  however,  as  demon- 
strating that  superphosphate  should  not  be  used  for  grain,  as  it 
represents  but  one  season's  work.  The  data  are  only  valuable  as 
supplementing  other  work,  and  are  published  only  as  a  matter  of 
record  of  work.  The  results  of  these  tests  are  shown  in  tabulated 
form  below: 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


277 


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278 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


DEILL  VS.  BROADCAST  SEEDING. 

Fully  90  per  cent,  of  California  grain  growers  still  broadcast  their 
grain  notwithstanding  drilling  of  seed  has  been  shown  to  be  mucn 
more  effective.  In  order  to  demonstrate  this  under  our  own  condi- 
tions, twenty-two  comparative  trials  have  been  made,  other  conditions 
being  the  same,  and  the  results  are  tabulated  below : 


Fig.  14. — Drilling  wheat  at  University  Farm,  Davis. 
(See  Table  IX.) 


TABLE  IX.— RELATIVE  RESULTS  FROM  DRILLED  VS.  BROADCAST 
SEEDING  UPON  THE  YIELD  OF  GRAIN. 

Average  of  22  Trials. 

Barley  Wheat 

Drilled    70.80  34.85 

Broadcast    64.43  31.60 

6.37  bu.  3.25  bu. 

Percentage  increase   ....     9.9  10.3 

Money  value  $3.18  $3.12 

It  pays  to  drill  instead  of  broadcast  seed. 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  T0  increase  THE  WHEAT  YIELD.  279 


TIME  OF  SEEDING. 

It  is  of  course  impossible  to  give  any  fixed  date  at  which  seeding 
should  be  done  because  of  so  widely  varying  climatic  conditions,  and 
the  impossibility  of  seeding  a  large  acreage  within  a  few  days.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  however,  early  seeding  should  be  encouraged  for  the 
securing  of  a  high  yield.  The  quality  of  wheat  produced  on  early 
seeded  areas,  however,  Avill  be  somewhat  lower  than  upon  those  late 
seeded.  A  great  many  analyses  of  early  seeded  (before  December 
20th)  wheat  as  compared  with  late  seeded  (after  January  25th)  have 
conclusively  shown  that  the  former  tends  to  produce  a  grain  large 
in  size,  heavier  in  weight,  lighter  in  color,  a  larger  yield,  and  distinctly 
lower  in  gluten. 

TABLE  X.— KESULTS  OF  EARLY  VS.  LATE  SEEDING  OF  GRAIN. 

1907-10  1910 

Wheat:  Wheat:  Barley: 

63  trials  18  trials  13  trials 

Early  seeding  (before  Dee.  20)  44.39  bu.  45.01*  bu.  63.79  bu. 

Late  seeding  (after  Jan.  25)  40.32  42.05  48.90 

In  favor  of  early  seeding  4.09  2.96  14.89 

Percentage  increase  10.14  7.04  30.5 

Increased  money  value $3.93  $2.84  $8.93 

Wheat  figured  at  $L60  per  cental;  barley  at  $1  per  cental. 
*  Seeded  Dec.  20-25. 

THE  SELECTION  AND  TREATMENT  OF  SEED. 

There  would  seem  to  be  little  necessity  of  discussing  the  importance 
of  good  seed,  yet  that  comparatively  little  attention  is  given  to  this 
matter  of  seed  selection  is  certainly  indicated  by  the  samples  of  seed- 
wheat  which  have  been  collected  from  farmers  by  the  writer.  Further, 
it  is  highly  prejudicial  to  the  highest  results  that  there  are  numerous 
erroneous  ideas,  held  very  tenaciously,  as  to  several  points  concerning 
seed-wheat.  There  is  little  doubt  that  much  of  the  present  condition 
of  low  yield  is  due  to  the  lack  of  attention  to  the  rational  selection 
of  first-class  seed — the  best  of  seed  is  always  the  cheapest. 

It  is  certain  that  one  of  the  factors  which  has  tended  to  reduce 
the  yield  of  wheat  in  California  is  the  egregious  blunder  of  constantly 
selecting  small  and  shrunken  grains  for  seed.  If  there  is  one  thing 
that  has  been  conclusively  demonstrated  by  the  most  carefully  con- 
ducted experiments,  it  has  been  the  superiority  of  product,  in  both 
quantity  and  quality,  obtained  from  the  selection  of  large,  vigorous 
heavy  grains  for  seed.     Numerous   experiments,   conducted  both  in 


280 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


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Bulletin  211]  HOw  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD.  281 

this  country  and  in  Australia,  not  only  with  wheat,  but  also  with 
corn  and  other  grains,  have  so  conclusively  demonstrated  this  point 
as  to  render  it  beyond  question,  yet  we  find  growers  continually 
selecting  the  poorest  of  parental  seed,  thus  gaining  a  constantly  de- 
generating product,  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality.  The  sole  idea 
seems  to  be  to  get  the  largest  number  of  plants  upon  an  acre  of 
ground,  irrespective  of  the  fact  that  quality  of  grain  as  well  as 
quantity  makes  for  profit. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  during  these  investigations  to  gain  a 
knowledge  of  the  general  character  of  seed  being  used  by  wheat 
growers.  To  this  end,  many  samples  of  the  common  wheats  about 
to  be  used  for  seed  were  secured  from  growers  and  sieve-graded  upon 
an  arbitrary  basis  for  comparison  against  a  typical  lot  of  the  same 
variety  of  wheat. 

The  samples  collected  for  examination  were  obtained  over  a  wide 
area  in  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys,  the  two  great  wheat- 
growing  sections  of  the  State,  and  probably  fairly  represent  the 
general  character  of  the  seed  used  by  the  farmers  of  the  State.  The 
separations  made  are  set  forth  below  in  tabular  form,  and  when 
examined  show  a  number  of  things  of  interest  bearing  upon  the  matter 
of  the  character  of  seed-wheat  being  used  by  the  farmers  of  the  State. 

The  figures  are  the  results  obtained  by  separating  the  several  sizes 
of  grains  by  means  of  a  set  of  sieves  with  meshes  of  arbitrary  size. 

The  results  of  such  grading  are  shown  in  Fig.  14  and  the  following 
table : 

TABLE  VII.— COMPARING  THE  GRADING  OF  GOOD  AND  POOR  SEED. 

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  Weight 

3.25  mm.  3.00  mm.  2.75  mm.  2.50  mm.  2.25mm.  2.00mm.  Trash,    per  bu. 


% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

% 

Lbs. 

Standard    

28.61 

18.49 

28.74 

19.62 

1.83 

1.93 

.75 

60.5 

Average  of  25% 
best   samples 

of 

....  17.58 

14.24 

30.31 

28.46 

2.46 

1.29 

5.89 

58.2 

Average    

6.56 

8.23 

22.16 

47.20 

9.74 

2.19 

3.84 

57.7 

From  this  it  may  be  seen  that  there  is  room  for  much  improvement 
in  the  grade  of  our  wheat,  even  though  no  higher  standard  be  taken 
than  that  used  by  the  best  one-fourth  of  the  growers  here  represented ; 
and  if  we  should  exclude  from  the  average  the  best  one-fourth  the 
difference  would  be  still  more  striking. 

From  the  standpoint  of  practical  work  it  may  be  argued  that  it 
is  impossible  to  secure  as  high  a  grade  as  here  represented  by  the 
standard,  but  it  is  certainly  fair  to  assume  that  all  can  easily  secure 
a  seed  which  will  grade  as  high  as  the  average  used  by  25  per  cent. 


282  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

of  the  growers  here  represented.  Special  attention  is  called  to  this 
because  it  is  a  standard  entirely  possible  for  the  wheat-growers  to 
reach,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  wheat  crops  would  be  much 
improved  by  such  seed,  and  it  is  a  plan  that  could  be  put  into  imme- 
diate operation.  It  is  the  worst  kind  of  folly  to  continue  to  plant 
small,  light  seed  when  it  is  so  easy  to  secure  seed  of  good,  if  not  of 
the  very  best,  quality.  No  grower,  however,  should  be  satisfied  with 
anything  short  of  the  best  for  seed,  and  by  so  much  as  he  lowers  his 
standard  in  this  respect  does  he  multiply  his  chances  of  failure.  This 
is  the  more  important  since  the  climatic  conditions  which  obtain  in 
the  wheat-growing  sections  of  the  State  are  decidedly  fickle,  particu- 
larly as  to  moisture  and  those  conditions  which  lead  to  rust  attacks. 
We  should  take  every  precaution  to  secure  the  best  of  seed — large, 
plump,  and  vigorous — but  should  remember  that  by  far  the  better 
results  can  be  obtained  if  we  are  also  certain  that  the  seed  has  come 
by  selection  from  strong  and- vigorous  plants. 

SELECT  SEED  FROM  PRODUCTIVE  PLANTS. 

In  connection  herewith  it  should  be  stated  that  the  highest  results 
can  only  be  obtained  when  the  seed  is  selected  from  productive  indi- 
vidual plants,  and  that  under  favorable  conditions  even  small  perfect 
seeds  from  productive  plants  may  be  better  than  large  seeds  from 
unproductive  plants.  The  main  influence  of  large  grains  selected 
by  simple  sieve  grading  will  be  in  giving  the  plants  a  more  vigorous 
start  in  life,  which  of  itself  is  of  extreme  importance.  Other  things 
being  equal,  it  is  entirely  fair  to  presume  that  the  crops  which  are 
placed  under  the  most  favorable  environment  are  going  to  give  the 
best  returns.  It  has  been  shown  that,  in  general,  the  more  vigorous 
plants  (that  is,  those  having  the  largest  spikelets)  contain  the  larger 
grains,  so  thai  even  in  selecting  the  grains  by  simple  sieve  separation 
the  bulk  of  the  larger  grains  would  come  from  the  more  vigorous 
plants,  and  thus  there  would  be,  in  a  measure  at  least,  a  selection 
from  vigorous  plants. 

LARGE  AND  PLUMP  VS.  SMALL  AND  SHRIVELED  SEED. 

A  condition  much  to  be  deplored  is  the  great  tendency  of  growers 
to  use  small,  pinched  seed.  It  is  not  easy  to  give  an  accurate  defi- 
nition as  to  what  is  meant  by  shriveled  seed,  but  Fig.  16  will  serve  to 
show  the  contrast  between  plump  and  shriveled  seed  as  here  discussed. 
Doubtless  the  entire  discussion  is  due  to  the  fact  that  extremely 
inferior  looking  seed  will  actually  germinate  and  to  a  certain  extent 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


283 


grow  and  bear  a  crop,  and  under  favorable  conditions  may  even  pro- 
duce a  good  yield.     This  fact  has  unfortunately  given  rise  to  much 


Fig.  16. — Showing  the  difference  in  the  vigor  of  germination  between 
(A)  plump  and  (B)  pinched  seed-wheat. 


carelessness  in  the  selection  of  seed-wheat,  which  must  be  overcome 
if  we  are  to  secure  the  highest  results  in  grain  culture. 

The  main  reason  for  the  superiority  of  large,  heavy  grain  for  seed 
purposes  is  physiological,  and  lies  in  the  larger  reserve  food  supply 
in  the  larger  seed.     It  has  been  shown  that  heavier  seeds  possess  more 


284  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

of  the  important  plant  foods  (phosphoric  acid,  nitrogen,  and  potash).1 
These  materials  are  the  first  nourishment  which  the  plantlet  gets; 
there  is  abundant  material  immediately  available  to  the  plantlet,  and 
the  young  plant  is  soon  in  a  position  to  take  a  vigorous  hold  upon 
the  soil. 

That  the  germination  of  such  pinched  seed  is  fair  is  indicated  by 
a  germination  test  which  showed  92  per  cent,  of  the  grain  actually 
germinated,  but  the  plantlets  were  very  weak,  and  undoubtedly  their 
vitality  would  always  remain  low.     (See  Fig.  16.) 

These  results  are  in  entire  harmony  with  what  we  know  as  to  the 
necessity  of  securing  vigorous,  plump  seed  in  the  case  of  alfalfa  and 
other  crops.  The  same  fact  is  recognized  by  the  farmer  with  reference 
to  the  parentage  of  his  animals,  but  unfortunately  the  idea  holds  that 
the  case  is  different  with  wheat. 

CLEAN  AND  GBADE  SEED  WHEAT. 
Small  and  pinched  kernels,  as  well  as  weed  seed,  should  be  removed 
from  grain  that  is  to  be  used  for  seed  purposes.  There  is  no  better 
investment  for  a  grain  grower  than  the  purchase  of  a  seed  cleaner 
and  grader.  There  are  numerous  good  machines  for  this  purpose  on 
the  market,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  Owens  Advance 
cleaner  and  grader,  the  Chatham  Mill,  and  the  Globe  Separator  and 
Grader;  all  of  which  we  have  had  in  use  upon  the  Stations. 

EFFECT  OF  CHANGE  OF  SEED. 

There  is  a  very  widespread  belief  among  grain-growers  that  there 
is  a  necessity  for  frequent  change  of  seed  because  of  actual  deterior- 
ation due  to  continued  culture  under  the  same  soil  conditions.  This 
idea  is  held  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  well  nigh  universal.  Yet,  the 
most  carefully  conducted  investigations,  with  scarcely  a  single  excep- 
tion, go  to  show  that  not  only  is  there  no  benefit  to  be  derived  from 
the  mere  change  of  seed,  but  that  actual  loss  occurs.  In  the  light  of 
these  carefully  conducted  experiments  we  may  safely  lay  down  the 
principle  that  unless  the  change  be  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a 
better  variety  or  a  stronger  seed  there  can  be  no  advantage  resulting 
from  a  change  of  seed-wheat,  and  in  case  seed  be  purchased  from  a 
portion  of  the  country  where  climatic  conditions  are  quite  unlike  those 
of  California  the  seed  is  not  likely  to  be  at  its  best  for  several  years. 

If  seed  shows  signs  of  "running-out"  it  simply  means  that  proper 
care  has  not  been  taken  in  the  selection  of  the  seed  to  remove  small, 

i  A  further  discussion  of  the  seed  question  may  be  found  in  Bulletin  No.  181 
of  this  Station. 


Bulletin  211]  HOw  to  increase  the  wheat  yield.  285 

shriveled,  and  light-weight  kernels,  and  to  use  only  plump  kernels. 
With  proper  care  in  the  selection  of  seed,  wheat  does  not  deteriorate 
from  any  change  within  itself.  But  to  maintain  the  standard  of  yield 
care  must  be  taken  in  the  selection  of  the  best  seed  and  to  practice 
rational  methods  of  rotation,  manuring,  and  tillage  to  maintain  the 
fertility  of  the  soil. 

PEEVENTION  OF  SMUT. 

The  grain  smuts  in  California  cause  an  annual  loss  in  the  crop  of 
the  State  that  may  be  conservatively  estimated  at  over  $1,000,000. 
Not  only  does  this  direct  loss  occur,  but  there  is  a  further  loss  through 
a  lowering  of  the  commercial  grades,  which  is  occasioned  by  the 
presence  of  even  a  small  quantity  of  smut  on  the  grain.  Farmers, 
doubtless,  do  not  realize  the  large  loss  which  occurs  annually  from 
this  trouble.  Its  widespread  occurrence  in  the  State  is  the  more  to 
be  deplored  since  the  preventive  methods  which  can  be  employed  are 
both  easy  of  application  and  extremely  effective. 

The  smuts  of  grain  are  caused  by  the  growth  of  minute  parasitic 
plants  that  live  within  the  tissues  of  the  grain  plants  and  are  nour- 
ished by  their  juices. 

While  there  are  certain  minor  ways  in  which  the  disease  may 
infect  a  field,  the  major  amount  of  the  infection  in  every  case  enters 
by  way  of  the  seed ;  therefore,  the  greatest  care  should  be  taken  to  so 
select,  care  for,  and  treat  the  seed  as  to  prevent  sowing  living  smut 
spores  with  the  seed  grain. 

While  there  are  two  quite  distinct  classes  of  the  so-called  smuts 
which  affect  grain  crops,  one  known  as  loose,  or  black  smut,  and  the 
other  stinking  smut,  or  bunt,  of  wheat,  it  is  the  latter  which  causes 
by  far  the  greatest  loss  in  wheat. 

On  account  of  the  fact  that  the  spores  may  remain  entirely  inclosed 
in  the  wheat  grain,  and  of  the  very  disagreeable  odor,  it  not  only  is 
capable  of  seriously  reducing  the  yield,  but  also  damages  the  quality 
of  the  associated  sound  grain  when  milled,  by  imparting  a  disagree- 
able odor  to  the  flour. 

METHODS  FOR  SMUT  PREVENTION. 

Since  the  major  source  of  infection  is  through  the  medium  of  the 
seed,  it  is  necessary  that  all  seed  sown  be  treated  by  such  a  process 
as  will  kill  the  smut  spores  adhering  to  the  grain  without  injury  to 
the  latter.  There  are  two  methods  which  can  be  recommended  as 
well  nigh  positive  in  result,  when  the  seed  has  been  properly  treated. 


286 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


These  methods  are  set  forth  below  in  the  order  in  which  they  are 
recommended. 

Formalin  Method. — Use  one  pound  of  formalin  (a  40  per  cent, 
solution  of  formaldehyd)  to  50  gallons  of  water.  The  solution  may 
be  placed  in  barrels  or  tanks  until  used.  The  wheat  may  be  dipped 
into  the  solution  in  loosely  woven  bags  or  wire  baskets,  allowed  to 
remain  for  ten  minutes,  and  then  drained  to  save  all  the  liquid  possible, 
and  dried,  when  it  is  ready  to  sow. 

If  it  is  preferred,  the  seed  may  be  spread  on  a  clean  canvas  or 
board  floor  and  the  formaldehyd  solution  applied  with  a  sprinkler, 
or  hose  and  nozzle,  constantly  stirring  and  mixing  the  grain  with  a 
rake  or  shovel  until  all  the  kernels  are  thoroughly  wetted,  when  it  is 
allowed  to  dry. 

Be  sure  to  get  40  per  cent,  formalin.  Dealers  sometimes  give  a 
25  or  30  per  cent,  formalin  for  a  40  per  cent. 

The  formalin  should  be  weighed  in  order  to  make  sure  that  a  full 
pound  to  each  50  gallons  of  water  be  used.  The  cans  in  which  the 
formalin  comes  often  contain  only  three-fourths  of  a  pound,  hence  the 
necessity  of  this  precaution. 

This  treatment  has  an  advantage  over  some  others,  in  that  it  is 
not  poisonous  to  persons  handling  the  material. 

A  Machine  for  Treating  Wheat  to  Prevent  Smut. — Of  late  there 
has  come  on  to  the  market  a  machine  for  the  formaldehyd  treatment 
to  prevent  smut.  It  is  a  very  efficient  arrangement  for  this  purpose 
since  it  insures  the  thorough  wetting  of  each  kernel  and  at  the  same 


Fig.  17. — Machine  for  formalin  treatment  to  prevent  smut  on  grain. 


Bulletin  211]  HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  yield.  287 

time  removes  by  means  of  a  scraper  wild  oats,  light  seeds,  and  un- 
broken smut  balls.  An  illustration  of  this  machine  is  shown  in  Fig.  17. 
The  seed  is  poured  into  the  hopper  and  fed  into  the  formaldehyd 
solution  contained  in  the  tank  below.  It  passes  loosely  through  this 
solution  and  is  conveyed  by  the  elevator  to  a  fresh  sack  or  box.  The 
skimmer  is  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  machine,  for  it 
removes  from  the  surface  of  the  solution  all  the  unbroken  smut  balls, 
wild  oats,  and  light  trash  which  float  on  top. 

In  treating  oats  the  action  of  the  skimmer  is  reversed  so  the  grain 
is  forced  in  front  of  the  return  carriers,  and  by  them  into  the  bottom 
of  the  treating  tank,  then  elevated  as  wheat. 

Bluestone,  or  Copper  Sulfate,  Method. — This  is  the  method  prac- 
ticed almost  exclusively  in  California.  Its  lack  of  effectiveness  in 
many  cases  may  generally  be  traced  to  a  lack  of  thoroughness  in  the 
work,  or  to  re-inocculation  of  the  seed  in  some  manner  after  treatment. 

A  solution  is  made  by  dissolving  1  pound  of  blue  vitriol  in  4 
gallons  of  cold  water,  and  dipping  the  wheat  in  the  solution,  as  above, 
until  the  grain  has  become  thoroughly  wetted,  after  which  it  is 
immediately  dried.  Or  the  wheat  may  be  piled  upon  a  floor  or  canvas, 
and  thoroughly  sprinkled  or  sprayed  with  the  solution  while  the  grain 
is  being  constantly  shoveled  over  so  that  every  grain  becomes  wet 
over  the  entire  surface.  Care  should  be  taken  that  the  solution  is 
of  uniform  density  by  thoroughly  agitating  just  previous  to  use. 

EFFECTIVENESS  OF  TEEATMENTS  FOR  SMUT  PREVENTION. 

To  ascertain  the  relative  effectiveness  of  several  methods  of  treat- 
ment and  more  particularly  to  test  the  effectiveness  of  dilute  sulfuric 
acid  for  the  prevention  of  stinking  smut,  in  the  season  of  1909  com- 
parative trials  were  made  of  the  well  recognized  fungicides,  bluestone, 
and  formaldehyd,  also  a  proprietary  preparation  known  as  Anti-fungi, 
and  two  different  dilutions  of  sulfuric  acid. 

In  this  trial  five  varieties  of  wheat  were  employed  and  one  of 
barley.  About  three  pounds  of  smut-free  seed  of  each  variety  were 
thoroughly  infected  with  stinking  smut  by  shaking  the  seed  with  a 
quantity  of  the  powdered  smut  balls.  The  solutions  were  made  up 
according  to  the  strengths  indicated  in  the  tabular  statement  sub- 
joined, and  a  separate  portion  of  each  lot  of  wheat  immersed  in  each 
of  the  solutions,  one  portion  being  reserved  for  planting  untreated  to 
serve  as  a  check.    The  results  are  tabulated  below : 


288 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


TABLE  VIII.— RESULTS  OF  TREATMENT  TO  PREVENT  SMUT  IN 

GRAIN,  1909. 
Clean  Seed  Inocculated  with  Smut  Spores. 

, Per  cent,  smutted  plants  at  harvest , 

Bluestone     Antifungi  H2S04  H2S04  Formalin 

1  lb  to  1  lb.  to  1-1000  1-500  1  lb  to 

Name  Untreated       4  gals.  2  V2  gals.  by  wt.  by  wt.  50  gals. 

White   Australian   ....  75.2  0.19  1.23  60.66  16.47  29.07 

King's  Early  62.4  1.30  1.15  59.25  58.54  13.50 

Chul    48.8  0.00  2.36  59.91  19.32  28.62 

Velvet  Don   45.5  0.00  0.17  49.92  5.30  16.80 

Sonora    16.7  0.18  0.00  52.74  0.32  0.00 

Average    49.7  0.33  0.98  56.49  19.99  17.29 

Barley. 
Common   California ..  56.3  0.00  0.00  11.00  0.58  0.00 

It  will  be  noted  that  while  practically  50  per  cent,  of  the  grain 
from  the  untreated  seed  was  destroyed  by  smut,  only  one-third  of  1 
per  cent,  of  the  "bluestoned"  seed  was  lost.  This  shows  the  well 
recognized  effectiveness  of  this  treatment.  The  "Anti-fungi"  treat- 
ment was  very  effective,  the  loss  in  this  case  being  a  trifle  less  than 
1  per  cent. 

Sprayed.  Unsprayed. 


Fig.  18. — Showing  effect  of  spraying  with  iron  sulfate  to  kill  mustard. 


BULLETIN   211]  HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


289 


The  1-1000  sulfuric  acid  solution  was  far  too  weak  to  be  of  value, 
but  the  stronger  acid  solution  (1  to  500)  was  nearly  as  effective  as  the 
formalin  and  is  probably  worth  further  trial. 

It  is  further  quite  evident  that  certain  varieties  of  wheat  are  much 
more  smut-resistant  than  others,  and  that  White  Australian  is  very 
susceptible  to  the  fungus. 

SPEAYING  TO  KILL  WEEDS. 

In  1905-06  some  experiments  were  made  to  test  the  effect  of 
spraying  the  plats  at  Yuba  City  with  a  solution  of  copper  sulfate  to 
kill  the  wild  radish.  The  results  were  not  very  satisfactory  as  a 
whole.  In  many  of  the  plats  the  weeds  were  so  large  that  even  one 
hundred  gallons  per  acre  of  the  solution  would  not  cover  the  weeds 
sufficiently  to   kill  them.     In   cases   where   very   small   plants   were 


Unsprayed. 


Sprayed. 


r w '  <  nil    T> 


Fig.  19. — Showing  effect  of  spraying  with  iron  sulfate  to  kill  mustard. 


290  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

sprayed  the  weeds  were  killed,  but  the  land  was  so  infested  with  seed 
that  every  shower  caused  more  plants  to  grow.  A  solution  of  one 
pound  of  copper  sulfate  to  two  gallons  of  water  and  applied  at  the 
rate  of  about  one  hundred  gallons  per  acre  proved  effective  in  killing 
young  plants  of  the  mustard  and  radish,  besides  various  other  weeds, 
without  resulting  in  permanent  injury  to  any  of  the  cereals.  In 
some  cases  the  upper  portion  of  the  blades  turned  brown  at  first,  but 
growth  was  not  retarded  materially,  and  in  a  week  or  ten  days  the 
plants  had  resumed  their  usual  green  color.  Experiments  in  spraying 
to  kill  weeds  in  grain  fields  were  taken  up  again  in  1908-09.  In 
these  trials  iron  sulfate  was  used  instead  of  copper  sulfate  and  with 
more  effective  and  more  economical  results.  The  details  of  the  several 
trials  made  will  not  be  set  forth  at  this  time,  but  suffice  it  to  say  that 
the  trials  showed  the  effectiveness  of  this  treatment  for  the  killing 
of  mustard,  but  it  did  not  prove  effective  for  killing  radish.  In  these 
trials  the  iron  sulfate  was  used  at  the  rate  of  140  pounds  per  acre. 
In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  about  65  per  cent,  of  the  mustard 
was  killed  by  one  application  of  this  spray.  However,  the  present 
freight  rates  upon  this  iron  sulfate  renders  it  prohibitive  to  use  the 
material  on  a  large  scale,  as  much  as  it  is  needed  in  some  sections  of 
the  state. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  WHEATS  DESIRABLE  FOR 
CALIFORNIA. 

Considered  only  in  relation  to  field  conditions  there  are  certain 
special  characteristics  which  are  extremely  desirable  for  wheats  which 
are  to  be  introduced  into  this  State.  The  following  are  considered 
the  most  prominent  of  these :  manner  of  growth,  tenacity,  days  to 
mature,  character  of  head  (especially  with  respect  to  awns),  rust 
resistance,  and  heavy  yielding  plants. 

In  the  selection  of  a  variety,  climatic,  and  soil  conditions  must 
be  given  consideration,  for  certain  varieties  are  more  suitable  for  light 
soils  than  for  heavy  soils,  and  vice  versa.  Further,  some  varieties 
are  much  more  able  to  withstand  drought  than  others.  This  latter 
condition  is  of  special  significance  under  "dry  farming"  conditions. 
Further,  there  is  considerable  difference  in  the  ability  of  varieties 
to  withstand  attacks  of  rust,  which,  in  the  coastal  regions,  is  a  factor 
of  much  importance;  in  the  interior  section,  however,  this  is  of  less 
consequence. 


Bulletin  211]  HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD.  291 

EARLY  MATURITY. 

Earliness,  as  measured  by  days  to  mature,  is  an  important  point 
for  consideration  in  the  selection  of  grains  for  use  in  California. 
The  wheats  should  be  such  as  can  be  planted  as  late  as  possible  and 
will  have  a  rapid  growth  and  mature  early,  before  the  exceedingly 
hot  weather  comes  on  in  the  summer.  Further,  earliness  is  a  great 
factor  in  enabling  the  wheats,  and  grains  in  general,  to  withstand 
rust  attacks,  which  are  very  severe  in  certain  sections.  This  is  ex- 
tremely important  for  wheats  grown  in  the  coast  counties,  for  in  that 
region  rust  is  an  omnipresent  difficulty,  owing  to  the  more  moist 
atmosphere.  Further,  the  early  wheats  are  not  as  apt  to  be  injured 
by  drought  as  the  later  maturing  varieties. 

HABIT  OF  GROWTH. 

The  manner  of  autumn  growth  (that  is,  whether  the  growth  is 
upright  or  spreading)  is  of  unusual  importance  under  the  present 
condition  of  the  grain  fields  as  to  weeds.  Until  the  farms  are  in  a 
much  cleaner  condition  than  at  the  present  time  no  wheat  is  likely 
to  meet  with  favor  unless  it  will  make  a  reasonably  good  fight 
for  life  among  weeds.  This  factor  is  not  so  important  in  the  case 
of  wheats  used  on  summer-fallow  land,  but  in  many  instances  even 
in  this  case,  it  is  of  some  importance,  because  the  continued  use  of 
the  combined  harvester,  coupled  with  generally  careless  methods,  have 
so  seriously  scattered  the  weeds  in  the  grain  fields  as  to  make  even 
the  summer-fallow  land  exceedingly  foul.  In  such  fields  the  plants 
that  have  a  low-spreading  growth  in  the  fall  and  winter  have  but 
little  chance  against  the  weeds.  It  is  the  strong  upright  growth 
made  by  the  varieties  commonly  grown  in  the  State  that  has  been 
one  of  the  main  factors  which  has  enabled  them  to  hold  their  own 
in  the  State  despite  their  low  milling  qualities.  This  rapid  upright 
growth  enables  them  to  successfully  keep  ahead  of  the  weeds  and 
finally  win  in  the  race.  With  the  farms  becoming  smaller  and  being 
given  greater  care,  and  the  introduction  of  the  binder,  this  factor 
possibly  will  not  be  as  important.  Generally  speaking,  however,  these 
same  spreading  varieties  require  early  planting,  and  for  this  reason 
under  the  conditions  of  precipitation  which  hold  in  large  grain- 
growing  sections  of  the  State  it  is  difficult  to  get  them  planted,  except 
on  summer-fallow  land,  sufficiently  early  to  have  them  under  favor- 
able conditions  for  good  yield.  They  must  be  growing  by  December 
1st  to  be  under  even  fair  conditions,  and  it  is  seldom,  indeed,  except 


292 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


on  summer-fallow  land,  that  it  would  be  possible  to  seed  by  that  date. 
This  will  be  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the  introduction  of  these 
wheats  into  this  State.  Our  present  idea  is  that  varieties  whose  early 
growth  is  of  a  spreading  character  are  not  well  suited  to  the  climatic 
and  other  conditions  which  obtain  in  this  State  generally,  unless  it  be 
in  those  parts  of  the  State  where  limited  areas  of  wheat  are  grown 


Seeded  Dec.  6. 


Seeded  Jan.  15. 


Fig.  20. — Showing  necessity  of  early  planting  for  spreading  winter  wheats. 
Both  plats  same  variety  of  wheat.     Photographed  May  1st. 

by  irrigation,  where  a  late  summer  or  early  fall  irrigation  can  be 
given  the  land,  thus  enabling  it  to  be  put  into  condition  earlier  than 
otherwise  would  be  possible.  Such  varieties  may,  however,  be  suited 
to  the  smaller  valleys  in  the  mountain  sections  of  the  State. 


TENACITY,  OE  NON-SHATTEKING  HABIT. 
The  tenacity   with  which  the   chaff   holds   the   grain   is   also   an 
especially  important  factor  in  California,  where  the  combined  har- 
vester is  so  extensively  used.     Grain  frequently  stands  in  the  field 


Bulletin  211] 


HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


293 


for  a  month  to  six  weeks  after  it  is  mature,  and  under  the  heavy 
winds  which  prevail  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  and  certain  parts  of 
the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  unless  the  chaff  is  very  tenacious  of  the 
berry  there  is  serious  loss.     With  the  use  of  the  self-binder  instead 


Fig.  21. — Showing  typical  heads  of  different  classes  of  wheats,  one-half 
natural  size.  A,  beardless  common  wheat,  White  Australian;  B, 
bearded  common  wheat,  Turkey  Red,  a  spreading  winter  wheat;  C, 
bearded  durum  wheat,  Kubanka. 

of  the  combined  harvester  this  loses  something  of  its  significance, 
but  it  will  always  be  a  factor  of  importance.  The  wheats  which  have 
survived  in  the  struggle  for  existence  here  have  been  of  this  character, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  principal  points  in  which  the  Little  Club  variety 
appeals  to  the  farmer,  and  out-weighs  the  undesirable  points  of  this 
wheat. 


294  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

CHARACTER  OF  HEAD. 

The  character  of  the  head  as  to  awns  is  of  greater  importance 
than  in  most  places,  because  it  is  a  custom  here,  and  one  which  the 
fickleness  of  the  climate  renders  almost  necessary,  for  farmers  to  be 
governed  largely  by  the  character  of  the  season  as  to  whether  the 
crop  is  allowed  to  mature  its  grain  or  whether  it  is  cut  for  hay.  If 
the  season  seems  to  be  unpropitious  for  the  maturing  of  a  fair  crop 
of  grain  it  will  be  cut  before  maturity  for  hay.  Thus,  an  awnless 
variety  is  much  preferable. 

MILLING  QUALITY. 

Perhaps  no  factor  in  the  selection  of  a  variety  is  of  greater 
importance  in  California  than  that  of  the  milling  quality.  Practi- 
cally no  flour  is  made  today  anywhere  from  wheats  milled  of  one 
variety  alone.  Practically  all  flour  is  the  result  of  a  blend  of  varieties. 
On  account  of  the  low  gluten  content  of  the  type  commonly  grown 
in  California  an  undue  quantity  of  wheat  has  to  be  imported  from 
Kansas  and  other  points  to  build  up  the  gluten  content  of  the  manu- 
factured flour  to  a  sufficient  quantity  and  quality.  It  is  highly 
desirable  to  find  and  introduce  varieties  that  will  lessen  these  impor- 
tations. The  milling  value  of  a  wheat  is  judged  by  both  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  the  flour  product.  The  quality  of  the  flour  for  baking 
is  determined  by  its  gluten  quantity  and  quality,  and  its  color.  It 
is  highly  essential  that  varieties  be  grown  which  will  produce  more 
and  better  gluten  per  acre. 

OTHER  REQUISITES. 

The  importance  of  high  yielding  plants  is  too  evident  to  need  any 
discussion.  No  other  characteristic  of  a  plant  is  so  important,  and 
most  of  those  mentioned  above  have  a  bearing  upon  this  quality. 

The  possession  of  a  stiff  or  weak  stem,  and  resistance  to  bunt,  are 
all  factors  that  should  be  considered  by  the  grower. 

SEED  IMPROVEMENT  BY  THE  GROWER. 

The  farmer  can  do  much  toward  the  improvement  of  his  own  seed 
by  attempting  to  bring  it  to  a  high  standard  of  perfection  and  purity 
of  variety  by  proper  methods  of  selection  and  culture,  which  is  far 
preferable  to  the  constant  and  indiscriminate  change  of  seed  practiced 
by  so  many.  It  has  long  been  the  practice  of  farmers  to  make  a  sort 
of  selection  of  seed  corn,  and  to  some  extent  of  seed  potatoes,  but 
the  fact  that  seed  grain  is  as  capable  of  improvement  by  such  selection 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


295 


seems  to  have  been  well  nigh  overlooked.  The  practice  of  indiscrim- 
inate seed  exchange  precludes  the  possibility  of  any  permanent  crop 
improvement  by  careful  culture  and  seed  selection.  While  the  farmer 
can  not  follow  out  the  details  of  plant  breeding,  yet  it  is  entirely 
feasible  for  him  to  practice  with  his  own  crops  straight  selection 
of  seed. 


Fig.  22. — Seed  selection  plats,  University  Farm,  Davis. 


MAINTAIN  A  SEED  PLAT. 

The  maintenance  of  a  seed  plat  for  the  improvement  of  seed  should 
be  the  practice  of  every  grain  grower  in  California.  This  plat  should 
be  located  at  different  parts  of  the  farm  every  two  or  three  years. 
The  location  should  always  be  where  the  soil  is  of  uniform  quality, 
but  one  should  avoid  areas  of  special  fertility.  It  is  important  that 
the  seed  plat  should  be  located  on  clean  land,  and  particular  care 
should  be  taken  that  the  land  be  free  from  other  varieties  of  grain. 
It  is  best,  then,  that  the  land  should  have  been  under  clean  culture 
the  preceding  year,  or  that  some  cultivated  crop  should  have  been 
grown  in  the  preceding  year.  Just  before  harvest  go  through  a  field 
of  a  good,  hardy,  standard  variety  that  has  given  the  best  results  in 
the  locality  and  mark  plants  that  exhibit  to  the  highest  degree  the 


296  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

special  quality  which  it  is  desired  to  increase,  such  as  freedom  from 
rust,  fertility  of  head,  or  otherwise,  and  which  are  at  the  same  time 
at  least  as  good  as  the  average  in  other  respects.  At  harvest  time 
cut  with  a  sickle  enough  of  these  marked  plants  for  sowing  the  plat, 
and,  after  threshing  them,  select  the  largest  and  most  vigorous  seed 
for  this  purpose  by  means  of  a  screen,  or,  preferably,  gravity  grader. 
Sow  the  plat  early,  drilling  it  at  the  average  rate  of  about  80  pounds 
per  acre.  From  this  seed  plat  select  as  above  seed  sufficient  to  reseed 
a  similar  plat  the  following  season,  and  harvest  and  thresh  the  re- 
mainder of  the  crop  from  the  seed  plat  separately  from  the  main  crop, 
care  being  taken  that  the  machinery  used  is  free  from  all  other  grains 
which  might  cause  a  mixture.  The  first  portion  threshed  should  be 
rejected,  as  it  is  most  likely  to  contain  such  a  mixture.  The  grain 
from  the  seed  plat  should  be  used,  as  far  as  it  will  go,  for  the  general 
crop  the  succeeding  year.  If  there  is  a  considerable  acreage  it  may 
be  necessary  to  continue  the  seed  plat  for  a  second  year  in  order  to 
obtain  sufficient  seed  for  the  main  crop.  In  this  way  seed  is  never 
taken  from  the  general  crop,  which  can  not  be  given  the  same  care 
as  the  small  plat,  and  there  is  a  constant  selection  of  seed,  which  is 
more  and  more  rigid  every  year.  Moreover,  there  is  no  extra  labor 
involved,  except  the  small  amount  required  for  seed  selection  each 
year. 


VARIETY  TESTS. 

A  large  number  of  variety  tests  of  wheat  have  been  conducted 
by  the  University  during  the  past  five  years,  but  very  few  of  them 
have  shown  characteristics  thoroughly  adapted  to  California  condi- 
tions. The  variety  tests  have  not  yet  been  conducted  for  a  sufficient 
time  to  enable  a  positive  statement  to  be  made  as  to  the  adaptability 
of  all  of  these  varieties  in  any  particular  locality.  There  is  probably 
no  one  best  variety  even  for  one  section.  Varieties  which  produce 
good  yields  in  one  section  are  found  to  give  poor  returns  in  other 
section.  Some  varieties  do  better  on  heavy  soil,  others  on  light  soil. 
Further  work  needs  to  be  done  concerning  a  wider  variety  of  condi- 
tions. However,  the  work  already  done  indicates  that  there  are  a 
number  of  varieties  that  will  probably  meet  the  prevailing  conditions 
better  than  the  commonly  grown  wheats. 

In  the  following  tables  the  results  of  variety  tests  are  shown.  The 
wheats  are  classified  as  the  spreading  winter  types,  the  upright  spring 
types,  the  durum  types,  and  the  hybrids  which  have  shown  promise. 


Bulletin  211]         how  to  increase  the  wheat  yield.  297 

TABLE  XL— SHOWING  AVERAGE  YIELD  OF  WHEATS  OF  THE 
SPREADING  TYPE  AT  MODESTO  AND  CERES,  1907-10. 


).  I.  No. 

Variety- 

Av.  number 
of  days 
maturing 

Av. 
days 

ing 

number 
in  fruit- 
;  period 

Non- 
shattering 
character 

r— Av.  yield 
Variety 

per  acre— ■> 
Check 

2210 

Cap  Sheaf 

168 

38 

Fair 

24.7 

48.4 

1437 

Crimean 

176 

35 

Fair 

26.5 

31.8 

2988 

Dietz  Amber 

167 

37 

Fair 

15.7 

22.1 

2398 

Galgalos 

168 

37 

Good 

32.3 

34.3 

1442 

Kharkov 

170 

29 

Fair 

30.1 

32.3 

2989 

Jones'  Fife 

178 

36 

Fair 

23.1 

26.0 

2873 

Glyndon 

178 

35 

Faii- 

18.1 

26.0 

1561 

Theiss 

176 

36 

Fair 

19.8 

28.9 

Rice 

165 

19.7 

48.4 

1558 

Turkey 

173 

39 

Fair 

32.1 

30.3 

Gold  Coin 

172 

33 

Fair 

15.3 

29.3 

2592 

(Unnamed) 

180 

40 

Fair 

41.0 

41.2 

Generally  speaking,  the  wheats  of  spreading  type  have  not  equalled 
the  upright  growing  varieties,  and  they  are  not  well  adapted  to  the 
conditions  in  the  large  wheat  growing  areas  of  the  State,  although 
they  may  be  adapted  to  some  of  the  smaller  valleys  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  State. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  hybrids,  and  also 
those  from  Kansas,  are  practically  all  of  this  type.  Some  of  these 
have  made  excellent  showing  in  the  matter  of  yield,  but  they  deteri- 
orate in  quality  quite  easily.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  they  can 
ever  be  made  highly  desirable  wheats  for  California.  A  tabulation 
of  the  results  with  the  hybrids  of  this  type  is  shown  below: 


TABLE  XII.— TABLE  SHOWING  AVERAGE  YIELD  OF  HYBRID 

WHEATS,  1908-09. 

Av.  number  Av.  number  Non- 

of  days  days  in  fruit-  shattering        Average 

Hybrid  Number  and  Cross                                    maturing  ing  period  character           yield 

1406  x  Mediterranean,  31a7-l-l-l-l-l-l-l..  168  40  Fair             37.7 

1406  x  Mediterranean,  31a9-l-l-l-l-l-l-l..  168  39  Poor             59.9 

1406  x  1405,  32a4-l-l-l-l-l-l-l  168  39  Fair             38.7 

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  x  Jones'  Winter 

Fife,  35a2-l-l-l-l-l-l-l  168  40  Fair             47.1 

Turkey  x  Extra  Early  Oakley,  350a4-l-l- 

1-1-1-1-1   168  40  Poor             40.9 

Turkey  x  Extra  Early  Oakley,  350a5-l-l- 

1-1-1-1-1   168  40  Poor             39.7 

Turkey  x  Extra  Early  Oakley,  350a6-l-l- 

1-1-1-1-1 168  40  Poor             46.1 

Red   Winter    Fife    x    (Oiiigara   x    1344), 

351a2-l-l-l-l-l-l-l    168  36  Fair             48.7 


298 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


Av.  number  Av.  number 
of  days  days  in  fruit- 
Hybrid  Number  and  Cross                                    maturing  ing  period 

Sea  Island  x  (Yemide  x  JJawson's  Golden 

Chaff),  362a3-l-l-l-l-l-l-l  170  37 

Sea  Island  x  (Yemide  x  Dawson's  Golden 

Chaff),  362a4-l-l-l-l-l-l-l  170  37 

Sea  Island  x  Polish  366a-l-l-l-l-l-l-l  ....  170  37 

Currel  x  Banat,  1803-2  171  37 

Andrew's  No.  4  x  Zimmerman,  1806-2  171  37 

Weissenberg  x  Currel,  1807-1  171  37 

Bed  May  x  Banat,  1808-1  164  32 

Penquite's  V.  C.  x  Zimmerman,  1823-1  ....  175  40 

German  Emperor  x  Turkey,  1832-2  175  41 

Penquite's  V.  C.  x  Zimmerman,  1833-3  ....  171  37 

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  x  Turkey,  1850-2..  175  41 

Banat  x  Turkey,  1860  175  39 

*One  year  only  (1909). 

t  Soil  very  light  and  poor. 


Non- 
shattering        Average 
character  yield 


Fair 


46.5 


Poor 

43.8 

Fair 

50.2 

Poor 

44.7* 

Very  poor 

34.7* 

Fair 

42.7* 

Fair 

49.0* 

Fair 

30.0* 

Fair 

23.3*f 

Fair 

10.7*f 

Fair 

5.3*f 

Fair 

3.3*f 

The  following  table  (XIII)  shows  the  characteristics  and  average 
yields  of  wheats  of  the  erect  growing  type,  together  with  the  average 
yield  of  the  check  plats  of  White  Australian  grown  under  the  same 
conditions  at  Modesto  and  Ceres : 


TABLE  XIII.— SHOWING  THE  AVERAGE  YIELD  OF  WHEATS  OF  THE 
ERECT  GROWING  TYPE  AT  MODESTO  AND  CERES,  1907-10. 


C.  I.  No. 

Variety 

Av.  number 

of  days 

maturing 

Av.  number 
days  in  fruit- 
ing period 

Non- 
shattering        ( 
character 

— Av.  yield 

Variety 

per  acre-^ 
Check 

1698 

Allora 

161 

45 

Good 

38.1 

41.1 

3019 

White  Australian 

169 

38 

Fair 

32.6 

2511-2 

Blenoir 

155 

39 

Fair 

48.1 

48.7 

2921 

Bolo  Blanco 

169 

46 

Good 

51.4 

41.8 

2986 

California  Gem 

165 

38 

Fair 

29.1 

32.6 

2227 

Chul 

166 

41 

Excellent 

41.7 

34.7 

3018 

Club 

158 

41 

Good 

29.9 

30.5 

2397 

Erivan 

169 

35 

Good 

40.6 

36.1 

1697 

Early  Baart 

159 

38 

Fair 

24.6 

22.8 

1596 

Fretes 

169 

42 

Fair 

46.5 

36.6 

2888 

Filippino 

172 

38 

Very  good 

30.9 

35.9 

1970 

Propo 

164 

42 

Fair 

37.3 

33.2 

2991 

Purple  Straw 

161 

35 

Fair 

45.0 

49.8 

2984 

Saumaur  de  Mars 

s      172 

37 

Poor 

38.9 

37.6 

2983 

Chiddam 

172 

38 

Poor 

38.4 

37.6 

2899 

Chul  (selection) 

139 

36 

Very  good 

33.3 

29.9 

1743 

Sonora 

158 

44 

Fair 

34.8 

35.2 

2985 

W.  Bluestem 

176 

36 

Fair 

21.8 

30.3 

Bobs 

145 

43 

Fair 

45.4 

40.3 

Bulletin  211] 


HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


299 


DUEUM  WHEATS. 

The  durum  types  of  wheat  have  proven  to  be  quite  erratic  pro- 
ducers both  in  quantity  and  quality  of  product.  All  the  durum 
varieties  have  an  upright  growth.  The  performance  of  a  number 
of  the  more  promising  ones  at  Ceres  is  shown  in  the  tabulation  below : 

TABLE  XIV.— SHOWING  AVERAGE  YIELD  OF  DURUM  WHEATS,  1908-09. 


C.  I.  No. 

Variety 

Av.  number 

of  days 
maturing 

Av.  number 
days  in  fruit- 
ing period 

Non- 
shattering 
character 

r-  Yield 
1908 

per  acre  :  bu.  — N 
1909    Average 

1593 

Marouani 

164 

41 

Good 

12.8 

36.8 

24.8 

2235-2 

Marouani 

162.5 

39.5 

Fair 

46.7 

33.3 

40.0 

2096 

Yel.  Gharnovka     164 

40 

Good 

31.8 

18.0 

24.9 

2221 

Kubanka 

164 

40 

Good 

26.8 

26.5 

26.6 

2246 

Kubanka 

164 

39.5 

Good 

30.8 

21.8 

26.3 

2247 

Velvet  Don 

164 

39.5 

Good 

32.8 

14.2 

23.5 

2537 

Marchand 

167.5 

40 

Fair 

32.6 

14.0 

23.3 

2545 

Semonlier 

167.5 

40 

Fair 

41.6 

18.0 

29.8 

2547-2 

(Unknown) 

167.5 

40 

Fair 

52.9 

18.7 

35.8 

Fig.  23. — White  Australian  wheat,  1908,  at  University  Farm,  Davis. 


300 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


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Bulletin  211] 


HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


301 


TABLE  XVI.— SHOWING  AVEEAGE  YIELD  OF  WHEATS 

TYPE  AT  DAVIS,  1907-10. 

, Av.  yield  per  acre,  bushels ^ 

Seeded  before  Seeded  after 


OF  THE  ERECT-GROWING 


Dec. 
Variety 

20th 
Check 

Dec. 
Variety 

20th 
Check 

2397 

Erivan 

46.6 

60.2 

38.6 

49.6 

1698 

Allora 

33.8 

55.2 

13.6 

45.8 

2986 

California  Gem 

43.5 

59.2 

47.8 

58.3 

955* 

Defiance 

38.0 

58.0 

42.8 

56.1 

2985 

Bluestem 

38.3 

55.2 

54.5 

53.8 

793* 

Japhet 

40.3 

63.3 

41.6 

44.4 

1596 

Fretes 

47.3 

44.8 

35.8 

34.5 

1746 

King's  Early 

45.7 

41.7 

38.1 

35.0 

2899 

36.4 

42.2 

38.8 

34.6 

779* 

Bobs 

31.7 

42.9 

40.6 

41.5 

1697 

Early  Baart 

49.0 

43.8 

42.6 

39.6 

3018 

Little  Club 

55.1 

49.3 

42.4 

42.8 

2983 

Chiddam 

34.3 

56.6 

39.9 

37.5 

1970 

Propo 

48.7 

49.3 

49.1 

47.1 

2984 

Saumaur  de  Mars 

50.6 

58.0 

36.3 

32.7 

2227 

Chul 

42.4 

42.8 

35.8 

38.3 

1743 

Sonora 

46.2 

47.5 

45.2 

30.5 

1131* 

Silver  King 

46.8 

50.3 

1732 

Fishhead 

33.7 

37.0 

43.2 

30.5 

1132* 

White  wheat 

50.9 

48.1 

2511-2 

48.0 

33.2 

45.2 

36.0 

1133* 

Cumberland 

53.0 

38.2 

46.2 

30.5 

2126-2 

Kurd 

39.0 

37.5 

41.8 

30.5 

2200-2 

Karun 

30.5 

37.5 

39.2 

30.5 

2794 

Robeiro 

47.0 

45.1 

50.3 

28.5 

2592 

(No  name) 

36.7 

33.2 

2074 

(No  name) 

40.3 

42.3 

2921 

(No  name) 

35.2 

33.2 

2404 

(No  name) 

32.7 

33.2 

1593 

Marouani 

42.9 

44.0 

49.4 

37.6 

2235-1 

Marouani 

46.9 

49.5 

39.7 

36.7 

1494 

Arnantka 

46.6 

42.0 

21.5 

38.7 

1595-1 

Kahla 

51.7 

50.1 

47.1 

36.7 

2096-1 

Yellow  Gharnovka 

42.4 

43.6 

27.2 

44.9 

2247-1 

Velvet  Don 

51.5 

52.0 

35.0 

43.4 

2247-2 

Selection 

52.3 

52.1 

37.6 

45.0 

2089-1 

Richi 

45.4 

46.5 

35.3 

28.5 

1440 

Kubanka 

46.1 

58.9 

38.7 

36.1 

8232 

Black  Don 

45.3 

59.6 

30.9 

48.9 

2804 

(No  name) 

53.1 

45.3 

39.2 

28.5 

2805 

(No  name) 

47.7 

44.6 

48.8 

28.5 

2808 

(No  name) 

60.8 

45.3 

42.1 

29.0 

2816 

(No  name) 

57.6 

45.3 

35.7 

29.0 

2817 

(No  name) 

71.1 

47.0 

2797 

59.7 

47.5 

44.5 

28.5 

—Grand 
Variety 

42.6 

30.3 

45.8 
41.6 
49.1 
41.4 
42.7 
41.7 
37.6 
35.3 
45.8 
47.5 
37.1 
48.9 
39.8 
39.1 
45.9 
31.2 
38.4 
50.9 
46.6 
49.6 
40.4 
34.8 
48.0 
36.7 


average- 
Check 

54.9 

48.9 

55.6 

56.5 

54.2 

47.1 

40.7 

38.4 

38.4 

42.4 

41.7 

45.4 

47.1 

48.0 

41.5 

40.5 

41.8 

45.5 

33.7 

48.1 

34.6 

34.3 

34.0 

34.0 

39.5 

33.2 


46.1 

40.8 

44.5 

45.2 

34.0 

40.3 

50.1 

40.5 

31.0 

45.6 

43.5 

47.7 

45.0 

48.5 

42.0 

40.5 

40.5 

41.8 

38.1 

54.2 

48.4 

39.7 

48.0 

39.3 

54.5 

39.9 

50.3 

43.2 

71.1 

47.0 

54.6 

41.1 

77.6 

61.9 

82.3 

73.6 

90.6 

87.9 

104.9 

108.6 

97.9 

83.4 

109.9 

107.0 

79.0 

101.9 

96.1 

98.9 

91.2 

68.6 

113.8 

105.8 

134.7 

144.4 

137.0 

102.6 

124.0 

110.5 

95.2 

106.0 

98.5 

113.1 

98.5 

84.1 

123.7 

69.5 

90.6 

92.7 

103.7 

96.9 

70.3 

122.0 

122.4 

137.0 

116.4 

151.1 

132.7 


California  number. 


302 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


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Bulletin  211]  H0W  T0  increase  the  wheat  yield. 


303 


Fig.  24.— Chul  wheat,  natural  size. 


304  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

SOME  PROMISING  NEW  VARIETIES  OF  WHEAT  FOR 

CALIFORNIA. 

Of  the  many  varieties  of  wheat  tested  during  the  last  five  years, 
the  following  varieties  have  shown  the  most  promise  and  are  recom- 
mended for  trial  by  California  farmers. 

CHUL  WHEAT. 
Origin  and  History. — This  wheat  was  first  brought  to  this  country 
by  Mr.  E.  A.  Bessey  for  the  office  of  Seed  and  Plant  Introduction  in 
1902.     The  University  secured  the  first  seed  from  this  source.     Of 
this  variety  the  following  notes  were  made  by  Mr.  Bessey : 

' '  Chul  is  grown  on  the  steppes  of  Kussia  without  irrigation.  The  grains 
are  hard,  but  it  is  not  durum  wheat.  This  variety  yields  two  harvests  a  year, 
for  it  can  be  sown  as  either  a  winter  or  spring  wheat.  If  the  former,  the 
harvest  comes  in  July;  if  the  latter,  the  harvest  comes  in  September.  If  sown 
in  the  spring,  it  is  sown  just  as  soon  as  the  snow  melts.  The  spring  sowing  is 
most  certain  to  yield  a  good  crop,  for  the  fall  sowing  must  depend  upon  the 
rather  uncertain  snows.  This  seed,  however,  is  from  the  fall-sown  seed.  It  is 
selected  from  over  1,000  pounds  offered  for  sale,  and  is  remarkably  clean  and 
free  from  foreign  seeds  for  this  region." 

The  Station  distributed  its  first  seed  of  this  variety  to  farmers  in 
October,  1903.  The  reported  yields  from  these  plantings  were  about 
20  bushels  per  acre.  Most  of  these  small  seedings  were  lost  from  one 
cause  or  another. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  Cereal  Stations  under  the  control 
of  the  University  in  1904  and  1905  this  variety  was  put  into  the 
variety  test  with  others.  From  these  stations  small  lots  of  Chul  have 
been  sent  out  from  time  to  time  to  reliable  farmers  to  further  test 
its  adaptability. 

As  a  result  of  these  experiments  conducted  upon  the  University 
Farm  at  Davis  and  at  other  stations,  the  University  is  now  ready  to 
recommend  the  wide  planting  of  Chul  (California  No.  598)  wheat, 
especially  in  place  of  Club  and  Chili  wheats  in  the  Sacramento  Valley. 
After  a  number  of  years'  trial,  both  on  the  experimental  grounds 
controlled  by  the  University  and  in  co-operation  with  many  farmers, 
this  wheat  has  been  found  to  meet  the  extreme  conditions  of  the 
Sacramento  Valley  exceedingly  well,  besides  being  of  milling  quality 
much  superior  to  Club  but  probably  not  superior  to  White  Australian. 
While  the  wheat  is  of  the  bearded  type,  yet  it  differs  much  from  the 
other  bearded  wheats  which  California  farmers  have  tried. 

Description. — Chul  wheat  is  an  early,  erect,  and  vigorous  variety 
which  grows  to  a  height  of  three  to  four  feet.     The  wheat  stools  well 


Bulletin  211]  H0W  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


305 


Fig.  25. — Little  Club  wheat  at  University  Farm,  Davis. 


Fig.  26. — Chul  wheat  at  University  Farm,  Davis. 


306  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

and  produces  heads  which  are  medium  long,  tapering,  and  bearded. 
In  appearance,  the  growing  wheat  plant  much  resembles  the  well- 
known  Propo,  but  the  berry  is  of  a  much  different  character,  being 
darker  and  larger,  as  well  as  harder.  One  particularly  desirable 
feature  is  its  non-shattering  character.  It  will  stand  the  heavy  winds 
of  the  Sacramento  Valley  with  scarcely  any  loss  from  shattering. 
The  kernels  are  large,  long,  and  tapering,  and  of  a  translucent  char- 
acter. The  kernels  are  much  harder  and  heavier  than  White  Austra- 
lian. They  resemble  the  kernels  from  the  durum  wheats,  although 
the  wheat  is  not  a  durum.  As  indicated  in  the  original  notes,  the 
variety  is  one  that  has  a  long  seeding  period  and  it  can  be  planted  as 
late  as  the  middle  of  February  and  still  make  a  good  crop.  As  orig- 
inally introduced  it  carried  two  types  of  heads  and  two  types  of 
kernels.  One  type  possessed  a  white  chaff,  and  the  other  a  reddish 
brown  chaff.  The  one  type  of  kernel  was  light  amber  in  color,  and 
the  other  a  reddish  amber.  Both  of  these  types  are  still  to  be  found 
in  the  commercial  plantings  of  the  last  few  years.  There  is  practically 
no  Chul  of  a  single  pure  type  upon  the  market.  The  Station  has  now 
separated  the  two  types,  and  will  send  out  no  more  of  the  mixed  types. 
Farmers  who  desire  to  secure  a  pure  type  of  Chul  are  invited  to  corre- 
spond with  the  Station  to  that  end.  In  its  ability  to  withstand  drought 
it  is  a  strong  rival  of  the  durum  wheats.  For  instance,  on  one  of 
the  experiment  stations  of  the  University  of  California  in  1908  it 
yielded  at  the  rate  of  63.3  bushels  per  acre  and  received  less  than 
eight  inches  of  rainfall  and  was  not  irrigated.  On  another  station 
the  yield  was  at  the  rate  of  6Sy2  bushels  per  acre,  with  only  ten  inches 
of  rain,  and  on  still  another  station,  at  the  rate  of  51  bushels  per  acre. 

Yields. — Chul  wheat  has  made  an  exceptionally  good  showing  in 
the  field  tests  both  on  the  Stations  and  in  the  field  trials  of  farmers. 

It  has  been  tried,  not  only  by  the  University  of  California,  but 
also  on  a  large  scale  by  a  considerable  number  of  farmers  in  the 
vicinity  of  "Williams,  Arbuckle,  and  Maxwell  during  the  past  three 
seasons,  under  rather  adverse  conditions,  and  has  given  uniformly 
good  results,  although  it  had  no  rain  after  March  1st.  In  that  section 
some  3000  acres  of  this  wheat  was  grown  in  1909,  and  a  still  larger 
acreage  the  past  season. 

REPORTS  FROM  FAEMERS,  1910  CROP. 

Through  the  medium  of  the  University  161,082  pounds  of  this  seed 
were  distributed  in  1909-10,  and  the  reports  upon  the  crop,  so  far  as 
received,  have  been  uniformly  favorable  and  a  much  larger  quantity 
was  sold  by  growers  directly. 


Bulletin  211]         HOw  to  increase  the  wheat  yield.  307 

Some  of  the  growers  report  as  follows : 

No.  1;  Woodland:  Yield  12  sacks  per  acre.  Will  seed  again  this  fall.  "I 
think  it  is  a  very  fine  wheat.     The  north  wind  shrunk  all  grains  except  Chul." 

No.  2;  Dixon:     Seeded  in  February.     Yield  10  to  11  sacks  per  acre. 

No.  3;  Crows  Landing:  Seeded  early  in  January.  Received  only  iy2  inches 
of  rain  after  seeding.  Yield  16  sacks  per  acre.  White  wheat  under  same  condi- 
tions made  12  sacks  per  acre. 

No.  4:  Seeded  December  23.  Yield  12  sacks  per  acre.  Not  so  much  pinched 
as  other  varieties. 

No.  5;  Newman:  Seeded  last  of  February.  Yield  12.8  sacks  per  acre.  Club 
seeded  15  days  earlier  gave  7  sacks. 

No.  6;  Waterford:  Seeded  last  of  December.  Yield  Sy2  sacks  per  acre. 
Golden  Gate  Club  under  same  conditions  gave  5y2  sacks  per  acre. 

No.  7;  San  Miguel:  Seeded  December  15th.  Yield  31.6  bushels  per  acre. 
Propo  yield,  under  same  conditions,  26.6  busnels  per  acre. 

No.  8;  Modesto:  Average  yield  13  sacks  per  acre  on  land  considered  worn 
out  for  wheat.  "Even  at  high  price  paid  for  seed  it  has  proven  to  be  the 
cheapest  I  ever  put  in  the  ground. ' ' 

No.  9;  Collinsville:  Grew  28  sacks  from  300  pounds.  Did  not  have  a  fair 
chance. 

No.  10;  Lynch:  Yield  20  sacks  per  acre.  White  Australian  under  same 
conditions  gave  14.3  sacks.     Seeded  December  20th. 

No.  11;  Orland:  Yield  4  sacks  per  acre.  White  wheats  about  the  same. 
Hot  north  winds  seriously  affected  both  crops. 

No.  12;  Walnut  Creek:  Seeded  December  1st.  Yield  15  sacks  per  acre. 
Other  wheats  on  somewhat  poorer  land  gave  three  sacks. 

No.  13;  Newman:  Seeded  December  1st.  Yield  8  sacks  per  acre  on  rather 
poor  land. 

No.  14;  Modesto:     Yield  10  sacks  per  acre.     White  Australian  8  sacks. 

No.  15;  Hames:     Propo  and  Chul  both  burned  out  by  drought. 

No.  16;  Parkfield:  Seeded  December  2d.  Yield  18.5  sacks  per  acre.  White 
Australian  seeded  same  day  15  sacks. 

No.  17;  Estrella:  Seeded  latter  part  of  January.  Yield  8  sacks  per  acre. 
"Seeded  under  very  unfavorable  conditions:  ground  too  wet  at  the  time  of 
seeding  and  the  weather  was  very  unfavorable  after  that. ' ' 

No.  18;  Le  Grand:  Yield  11.7  sacks  per  acre.  White  Australian  seeded 
about  the  same  time  yielded  between  7  and  8  sacks.  Seeded  first  part  of 
January. 

No.  19;  Aptos:  Yield  18  bushels  on  little  less  than  an  acre.  Seeded  about 
November  15th. 


308  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

No.  20;  Sacramento:  Yield  13 y2  sacks  per  acre.  The  Chul  came  up  stronger 
and  was  more  vigorous  all  through  the  growing  season  than  Club  wheat  sown 
under  the  same  conditions  alongside  of  it.     Seeded  about  November  1st. 

No.  21;  Oakdale:  "In  a  general  way,  will  say  that  the  Chul  wheat  has 
turned  out  better  than  Australian  in  this  section.  We  are  somewhat  disap- 
pointed in  some  of  the  gluten  tests.  The  wheat  shows  a  great  variation,  some 
of  it  is  very  strong  and  some  very  weak." 

No.  22;  Hanford:  Average  yield  10  to  11  sacks  per  acre.  Sonora  wheat 
sown  at  the  same  time  and  under  similar  conditions  yielded  from  5  to  7  sacks. 

No.  23;  Concord:  Yield  16  sacks  per  acre.  "This  I  consider  very  good, 
as  most  wheat  in  this  locality  yields  from  5  to  10  sacks  per  acre.  Taking  it 
all  around,  if  the  wheat  produces  like  this  every  year  it  has  no  comparison  with 
other  wheats."     Drilled  on  November  16th. 

No.  24;  Belmont:  "Practically  no  yield  of  wheat.  In  March  the  field 
looked  like  a  flower  garden.     Did  not  attempt  to  grow  other  grain. ' ' 

No.  25;  Lincoln:  Yield  10.7  sacks  per  acre.  Other  wheat  yielded  8.56  sacks 
per  acre.     Seeded  October  20th. 

No.  26;  McArthur:  "The  Chul  wheat  gave  promise  of  a  good  crop,  but 
grasshoppers  completely  cleaned  it  up." 

No.  27;  Rio  Vista:  Yield  7  sacks.  No  other  wheat  under  same  conditions. 
Seeded  January  10th. 

No.  28;  Santa  Ana:  "While  the  returns  (from  Chul  wheat)  are  very  small, 
I  am  very  much  gratified  with  the  result  as  compared  with  the  performance  of 
Sonora  wheat  which  was  planted  under  like  conditions  and  at  the  same  time. ' ' 

No.  29;  Los  Angeles:  Yield  about  15  sacks  per  acre.  Seeded  latter  part 
of  January.  Fretes  wheat  under  the  same  conditions  yielded  about  10y2  sacks 
per  acre  and  did  not  stand  the  dry  weather  as  well  as  Chul. 

No.  30;  Conn  Ranch,  Red  Bluff:  "Yield  about  11  sacks  per  acre.  It  is 
hard  to  thresh  out  and  for  this  reason  is  a  good  grain  for  the  Sacramento 
Valley.  Sowed  the  latter  part  of  February,  and  had  very  little  rain  thereafter. 
White  Australian  alongside  yielded  8.5  sacks  to  the  acre. ' ' 


The  Milling  Quality. — While  the  average  gluten  (protein)  content 
of  Chul  is  about  1  per  cent,  higher  than  the  wheats  commonly  grown 
in  California,  as  shown  by  the  following,  yet  the  millers  offer  some 
objection  to  it  because  of  its  hardness  and  the  fact  that  the  volume 
of  loaf  obtained  from  the  flour  is  slightly  less  than  some  other  wheats. 
But  to  offset  this,  its  yield  of  flour  is  somewhat  greater  and  the 
absorptive  capacity  of  the  flour  is  higher. 


Bulletin  211]  how  to  increase  the  wheat  yield. 


309 


The  slightly  less  volume  of  loaf  is  probably  due  to  the  quality  of 
the  gluteu  rather  thau  to  the  smaller  quantity.  Still  flour  made  from 
Chul  wheat  will  produce  a  very  fair  loaf  of  bread  of  excellent  texture 
and  exceptionally  good  flavor.  That  this  is  true  has  been  demon- 
strated by  numerous  bakings  made  in  our  own  laboratories,  and  by 
loaves  baked  for  us  by  a  commercial  baker  in  Oakland.  The  following 
illustration  shows  the  relative  size,  appearance,  and  texture  of  a  loaf 
made  from  a  straight  Chul  flour  and  a  baker's  blend  flour  made  from 
a  California  wheat  flour  and  an  Eastern  flour  from  which  the  trade 
is  regularly  supplied  with  bread. 


9                                                      iB 

BtSSc.                                         w 

W                     1 

BPjSS8lte*»~       ¥GPI 

'      \ 

Brd§LJ^Q*^          *  *"             EjMk 

^al«?*r^>*WWqKL> •*":.  *~ 

m     B.LENB        |jfl 

1     C>^  ■'     | 

K                          -    Jj 

Bfi|     BLEND.       ^,.JB| 

^v       C//UL. 

Fig.  27. — Showing  relative  size  and  texture  of  loaves  baked 
from  a  regular  baker 's  blend  flour,  and  a  straight  flour 
from  Chul  wheat. 


310  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

TABLE   XVII.— COMPAEISON   OF   NITEOGENOUS   INGEEDIENTS    OF 

CHUL  WHEAT  AND  OF  THE  COMMON  CALIFOENIA  WHEATS. 

Analyses         , In  dry  matter ^ 

No.  of  Nitrogen       Protein      Gliadin 

(1)  White  Australian  42 

Average    1.74  9.89  3.74 

Maximum    2.36  13.42  6.74 

Minimum   1.22  6.92  1.86 

(2)  Washington  Bluestem  33 

Average   1.80  10.18  3.83 

Maximum    2.53  14.40  6.30 

Minimum 1.25  7.15  1.98 

(3)  Sonora   17 

Average   1.71  9.71         3.48 

Maximum    2.78         15.80         7.53 

Minimum 1.34  7.59         2.26 

(4)  Propo   5 

Average    1.88  10.64  4.44 

Maximum    1.92  11.94  5.39 

Minimum   1.58  8.97  3.31 

(5)  Little  Club  52 

Average    1.65  9.35  3.43 

Maximum    2.40  13.64  6.24 

Minimum   1.29  7.38  2.43 

(6)  Chul   55 

Average 1.91         10.84         3.35 

Maximum    2.52         14.32         6.20 

Minimum   1.36  6.73  1.46 

i 

The  milling  character  of  Chul  will  differ  with  individual  lots 
according  to  its  condition  of  culture,  mainly  time  of  seeding  and  the 
time  at  which  it  receives  moisture.  This  is  true  of  all  varieties  of 
wheat,  and  Chul  is  no  exception  in  this  case.  Each  lot  should  be 
judged  upon  its  own  merits  as  should  all  other  wheats. 

The  wheat  is  considerably  harder  than  the  other  types  of  wheat 
now  handled  by  the  millers,  and  the  most  economical  method  of  hand- 
ling the  variety  will  have  to  be  learned  by  further  experience. 

PEOTEIN  CONTENT  OF  WHEAT  AS  AFFECTED  BY  THE  TIME  OF 

OF  SEEDING. 

A  large  number  of  analyses  of  many  varieties  of  wheat  seeded 

both  early  and  late  have  been  made  at  the  University  laboratories  and 

almost  without  exception  it  has  been  found  that  late  planted  wheat, 

while  giving  a  smaller  yield,  produces  a  higher  protein  content.     The 


Bulletin   211J  HOW  TO  INCREASE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD.  311 

details  of  this  work  will  be  presented  in  a  later  publication.  We 
present  here,  however,  a  contrast  of  early  and  late  seeding  of  Chul 
and  Fretes  varieties  grown  on  the  California  Station  grounds  as 
shown  in  Bulletin  No.  178  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

TABLE    XVIII— EFFECT   OF  THE   LENGTH  OF  GROWING  AND  FRUITING 

PERIODS  ON  THE  PROTEIN  CONTENT  OF  THE  CHUL   AND 

FRETES  WHEAT  VARIETIES. 

Length  Length 

of  of  Yield 

Growing  Fruiting  to  the 

Grain  Investigations  No.  Variety         Period  Period  Protein*  acre 

2227 Chul  171  46  11.06  53.33 

2227 do  151  41  12.43  52.89 

1596 Fretes  177  45  10.94  56.00 

1596 do  152  40  14.08  45.53 

*The  percentages  of  protein  were  obtained  by  multiplying  the  percentage  of 
nitrogen  by  5.7. 

FRETES  WHEAT. 

Origin  and  History} — Seed  of  Fretes  wheat  was  received  by  the 
Office  of  Seed  and  Plant  Introduction  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  on  September  26,  1901,  from  El-Outaya,  Con- 
stantine,  Algeria.  It  was  obtained  by  Messrs.  D.  G.  Fairchild  and 
C.  S.  Scofield,  who  make  the  following  notes  on  it : 

"This  variety,  sometimes  called  Freitiss,  is  one  of  the  few  soft  wheats 
grown  in  Algeria.  It  is  particularly  noted  for  its  early  maturity  and  is  often 
extensively  planted  in  the  Sahara  Desert  in  seasons  when  the  winter  rains 
occur  so  late  that  the  durum  varieties  usually  grown  would  not  have  time  to 
mature.  When  planted  in  November,  as  it  is  in  Algeria,  at  the  same  time  with 
durum  varieties,  it  is  said  to  ripen  two  months  in  advance  of  them.  The  seed 
obtained  was  grown  upon  the  rather  salty  desert  sands  in  the  vicinity  of 
El-Outaya,  north  of  Biskra,  and  watered  with  somewhat  alkaline  but  still 
drinkable  irrigation  water.  The  variety  is  said  to  have  originated  from  a 
shipment  of  Eussian  wheat  which  was  made  into  Algeria  at  the  time  of  a 
famine  many  years  ago.  Its  early-maturing  qualities  attracted  attention,  and 
it  has  been  cultivated  in  small  quantities  by  the  Arabs  ever  since. ' ' 

Fretes  wheat  was  first  obtained  by  the  Station  in  1902  from  the 
Seed  and  Plant  Introduction  Office  and  at  once  distributed  to  a  few 
farmers  in  California,  and  good  reports  of  its  performance  were 
received.     It  was  placed  in  variety  tests  in  the  Station  Experimental 


i  Bulletin   66,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.   S.   Dept.   of  Agriculture,   1905. 
p.  151. 


312  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

grounds  in  Sutter  and  Stanislaus  counties  in  1904-05,  and  has  been 
grown  on  the  testing  stations  ever  since. 

Description. — Fretes  wheat  is  a  free-stooling,  prolific,  semi-erect, 
vigorous,  early,  bearded  wheat  that  should  be  seeded  not  later  than 
January.  It  grows  to  a  height  of  3  to  4%  feet  and  stools  fairly  freely. 
The  chaff  does  not  inclose  the  grain  as  closely  as  that  of  the  Chul,  but 
compares  well  with  White  Australian  in  this  respect.  The  kernels 
are  of  medium  size  and  length,  plump,  and  of  a  reddish  color.  They 
are  much  softer  than  those  of  Chul  wheat. 

Yields. — The  observations  made  as  to  its  adaptability  to  California 
conditions  indicate  that  it  is  a  heavier  yielding  variety  than  White 
Australian  and  is  of  fair  milling  quality. 

The  average  yield  of  Fretes  wheat  as  compared  with  White  Aus- 
tralian under  the  same  conditions  on  the  University  Stations  is  as 
follows : 


Fretes 

White  Australian. 


Stanislaus 
County 

Yolo 
County 

46.5 

42.7 

35.9 

40.7 

It  has  not  been  grown  to  any  extent  in  acreage  by  farmers. 

Milling  Test. — A  mill  test  of  this  wheat  was  made  by  the  Oakdale 
Milling  Company,  Oakdale,  California,  which  indicated  that  this 
variety  was  of  a  free  milling  character,  and  that  the  flour  from  the 
sample  milled  possessed  a  40  per  cent,  wet  gluten  content  against  38 
per  cent,  for  the  White  Australian  milled  at  the  same  time  and  grown 
under  the  same  conditions. 


Bulletin  211] 


HOW  TO  INCREx\SE  THE  WHEAT  YIELD. 


313 


Fig.  28. — Fretes  wheat,  full  size. 


314  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


A  BRIEF  STATEMENT  OF  THE  ESSENTIALS  FOR  SUCCCESS  IN  GRAIN 

CULTURE. 

1. — The  minimum  limit  of  precipitation  for  successful  culture  is  about  eight 
inches. 

2. — When   the   precipitation   is   less   than   fifteen   inches    bi-ennial    cropping, 
summer-fallowing,  should  be  practiced. 

It  saves  as  much  as  possible  of  two  seasons'  rain  for  one  crop. 

It  kills  weeds  which  use  up  moisture,  plant  food,   and  increases  the 

cost  of  operation. 
It  increases  aeration,  and  makes  plant  food  more  available. 
But   it   is   destructive   of  humus,   which   must   be   restored   by   green- 
manuring. 
3. — Add  organic  matter  to  the  soil  by  turning  under  winter-grown  rye,  field 
peas  or  some  other  leguminous  crop. 

This  improves  the  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil. 
It  enables  it  to  hold  more  moisture. 
It  helps  to  make  plant  food  more  available. 
It  lessens  washing,  drifting  and  blowing  of  soils. 
4. — For  fall  preparation  of  grain  land  plow  not  less  than  eight  inches  deep. 
This  enables  rain  to  get'  into  the  soil  easily. 
It  prevents  run-off  in  case  fo  very  heavy  rain. 
It  provides  more  feeding  space  for  plant  roots. 
It  encourages  deep  rooting  of  plants. 
It  makes  more  plant  food  available. 
5. — On  light  land  sub-pack  the  soil  immediately  after  plowing,  using  either 
a  sub-packer  or  a  disc-harrow. 

This  fills  up  air  spaces  in  the  furrow. 

It  gives  a  compact  lower  soil  which  brings  moisture  up  to  the  plant 
roots. 

It  leaves  the  surface  soil  loose;  the  lower  soil  compact. 
The  press-wheels  firm  the  soil  about  the  seed,  and  hasten  germination. 
6. — Harrow  to  a  good  mulch  or  seed-bed  immediately  following  the  packer. 
This  prevents  rapid  evaporation  of  moisture,  and  provides  a  good  seed- 
bed for  quick  germination. 
7. — Seed  with  a  drill  with  press-wheel  attachment. 
It  distributes  the  seed  evenly  over  the  land. 
It  places  the  seed  all  beneath  the  surface  of  the  soil  at  a  uniform 

depth. 
It  requires  less  seed. 
8. — Select  large,  vigorous,  plump  kernels  of  grain. 

These  have  greater  vitality  and  a  greater  reserve  supply  of  plant  food, 
thus  producing  more  vigorous  plants. 
9. — Harrow  the  grain  after  it  is  well  up. 
This  serves  to  retain  moisture. 
10. — Disc  the  land  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  crop  is  off. 

This  tends  to  save  residual  moisture  and  gives  a  fine  earth  to  turn 
under  in  the  first  plowing. 

11. — In  case  of  summer-fallow  practice  maintain  a  clean,  well-cultivated  soil 
mulch  during  the  summer. 

These  all  malce  for  success  in  dry  land  farming. 


STATION  PUBLICATIONS  AVAILABLE  FOR  DISTRIBUTION. 


REPORTS. 

1896.  Report  of  the  Viticultural  Work  during  the  seasons  1887-93,  with  data  regarding  the 

Vintages  of  1894-95. 

1897.  Resistant  Vines,  their  Selection,  Adaptation,   and  Grafting.      Appendix  to  Viticultural 

Report  for  1896. 

1902.  Report  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  1898-1901. 

1903.  Report  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  1901-03. 

1904.  Twenty-second  Report  of  the  Agricultural   Experiment   Station  for   1903-04. 

BULLETINS. 


Reprint. 
No.  128. 

133. 

147. 
149. 
151. 
152. 
153. 
154. 
159. 

161. 
162. 

165. 

167. 

168. 

169. 

170. 
171. 

172. 

174. 
176. 

177. 

178. 
179. 

180. 
181. 
182. 

183. 


Endurance  of  Drought  in  Soils  of 
the  Arid  Region. 

Nature,  Value,  and  Utilization  of 
Alkali  Lands,  and  Tolerance  of 
Alkali.  (Revised  and  Reprint, 
1905.) 

Tolerance  of  Alkali  by  Various 
Cultures. 

Culture  Work  of  the  Sub-stations. 

California   Sugar  Industry. 

Arsenical  Insecticides. 

Fumigation  Dosage. 

Spraying  with  Distillates. 

Sulfur  Sprays  for  Red  Spider. 

Contribution  to  the  Study  of  Fer- 
mentation. 

Tuberculosis  in  Fowls.    (Reprint.) 

Commercial  Fertilizers.  (Dec.  1, 
1904.) 

Asparagus  and  Asparagus  Rust 
in   California. 

Manufacture  of  Dry  Wines  in 
Hot   Countries. 

Observations  on  Some  Vine  Dis- 
eases  in   Sonoma   County. 

Tolerance  of  the  Sugar  Beet  for 
Alkali. 

Studies   in   Grasshopper   Control. 

Commercial  Fertilizers.  (June  30, 
1905.) 

Further  Experience  in  Asparagus 
Rust  Control. 

A   New   Wine-cooling   Machine. 

Sugar  Beets  in  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley. 

A  New  Method  of  Making  Dry 
Red  Wine. 

Mosquito  Control. 

Commercial  Fertilizers.  (June, 
1906.) 

Resistant  Vineyards. 

The  Selection  of  Seed- Wheat. 

Analysis  of  Paris  Green  and  Lead 

Arsenic.       Proposed    Insecticide 

Law. 

The  California  Tussock-moth. 


No.  184. 
185. 

186. 

187. 

188. 

189. 

190. 
191. 
192. 

193. 

194. 

195. 
197. 

198. 
199. 
200. 

201. 

202. 

203. 

204. 

205. 

206. 

207. 
208. 
209. 
210. 


Report    of     the    Plant    Pathologist 

to  July  1,   1906. 
Report     of      Progress     in     Cereal 

Investigations. 
The  Oidium  of  the  Vine. 
Commercial   Fertilizers.    (January, 

1907.) 
Lining  of  Ditches  and  Reservoirs 

to  Prevent  Seepage  and  Losses. 
Commercial     Fertilizers.        (June, 

1907.) 

The   Brown  Rot  of  the  Lemon. 

California  Peach  Blight. 

Insects  Injurious  to  the  Vine  in 
California. 

The  Best  Wine  Grapes  for  Cali- 
fornia ;  Pruning  Young  Vines ; 
Pruning  the   Sultanina. 

Commercial  Fertilizers.  (Dec, 
1907.) 

The   California   Grape  Root-worm. 

Grape  Culture  in  California ; 
Improved  Methods  of  Wine- 
making;  Yeast  from  California 
Grapes. 

The  Grape  Leaf-Hopper. 

Bovine   Tuberculosis. 

Gum  Diseases  of  Citrus  Trees  in 
California. 

Commercial  Fertilizers.  (June, 
1908.) 

Commercial  Fertilizers.  (Decem- 
ber,  1908.) 

Report  of  the  Plant  Pathologist  to 
July  1,   1909. 

The  Dairy  Cow's  Record  and  the 
Stable. 

Commercial  Fertilizers.  (Decem- 
ber,  1909.) 

Commerical      Fertilizers.        (June, 

1910.) 
The  Control  of  the  Argentine  Ant. 
The  Late  Blight  of  Celery. 
The  Cream  Supply. 
Imperial     Valley      Settlers'      Crop 

Manual. 


CIRCULARS. 


No.     1.   Texas  Fever. 
3.   Hog  Cholera. 

5.   Contagious  Abortion   in  Cows. 
7.   Remedies  for  Insects. 
9.  Asparagus  Rust. 

10.  Reading  Course  in  Economic  Ento- 

mology.     (Revision.) 

11.  Fumigation   Practice. 

12.  Silk  Culture. 

15.   Recent     Problems     in     Agriculture. 

What  a  University  Farm  is  For. 
17.  Why  Agriculture  Should  be  Taught 

in  the  Public  Schools. 
19.   Disinfection   of   Stables. 

29.  Preliminary     Announcement     Con- 

cerning Instruction  in  Practical 
Agriculture  upon  the  University 
Farm,   Davisvi'lle,   Cal. 

30.  White   Fly  in  California. 

32.  White  Fly  Eradication. 

33.  Packing    Prunes    in    Cans.       Cane 

Sugar  vs.   Beet   Sugar. 
35.   Southern      California      Pathological 
Laboratory    and    Citrus    Experi- 
ment  Station. 


No.  36.   Analyses     of     Fertilizers     for     Con- 
sumers. 
39.   Instruction     in     Practical     Agricul- 
ture at  the  University  Farm. 

46.  Suggestions    for    Garden    Work    in 

California   Schools. 

47.  Agriculture  in  the  High  Schools. 

48.  Butter   Scoring  Contest,    1909. 

49.  Insecticides. 

50.  Fumigation   Scheduling. 

51.  University  Farm   School. 

52.  Information   for  Students   Concern- 

ing the  College  of  Agriculture. 

53.  Announcement    of    Farmers'    Short 

Courses  for   1910. 

54.  Some      Creamery      Problems      and 

Tests. 

55.  Farmers'   Institutes  and  University 

Extension  in  Agriculture. 

57.  Announcement    of    Farmers'    Short 

Courses  in  Animal  Industry  and 
Veterinary   Science. 

58.  Experiments  with  Plants  and  Soils 

in      Laboratory,      Garden,      and 
Field. 


